Shichibukai Strawhat
by shadowsrisen
Summary: AU Set after the Alabasta Arc. After the defeat of Crocodile, the World Government gives Luffy the position of Shichibukai. Surprisingly Luffy accepts the position! How does this change the events set in the world of One Piece? Read and find out as the Strawhats embark on a new adventure. [Abandoned, Adopted by pizzajon]
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 11/02/15. Also added a spoiler warning.

 **A.N.**

Hello everyone! This story is mostly AU and it's about what would happen if Luffy was a Shichibukai. If you haven't caught up to the latest manga chapters then, I suggest you don't read this story because it'll contain information that'll be considered spoilers.

SPOILER ALERT! This story came to me after it was revealed that Buggy is a Shichibukai. Then it came to me that if Buggy could be a Shichibukai, then why not Luffy?

I originally had Luffy becoming a Shichibukai after defeating Gekko Moria since he would had enough credentials to be considered. Then I remembered that the Strawhats had declared war on the World Government during Robin's rescue so it wouldn't make sense for the World Government to be offer Luffy the position. Alright enough chatting. Enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think.

"Speaking"

 _'_ _Thoughts'_

 **"** **Attacks"**

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters.

 **Chapter 1: Invitation**

Holy Land Mariejois, the headquarters of the World Government and where the World Nobles presided. In the center of the island was the World Government's Headquarters. On the fifth floor of the headquarters was The Five Elder Stars Room. There the Gorosei were discussing important matters such as how to deal with the defeat of Crocodile.

"We should had stopped Crocodile when we had the chance. Now with his defeat, we have an imbalance of power." The tallest gentleman said as he wondered who could be a possible replacement.

"We should had expected someone that's related to Garp to cause a stir. Anybody related to the man is bound to cause some sort of trouble." The man with the cane replied.

"Monkey D. Luffy also known as Strawhat Luffy. His Grandfather is the Hero of the Marines while his father is the Revolutionary. What a crazy family." The youngest of the five men commented.

"Let us not forget that he's related to Portgas D. Ace and Red Hair Shanks." The man with the huge mustache reminded his fellow advisers.

"It's without a doubt that he'll cause a storm in the future, considering he's a 'D'." The only man not dressed in a suit commented as he inspected his katana. The five men pondered in silence as they debated on what to do with the vacant position as well as Luffy. Finally an idea popped into the head of the youngest.

"Perhaps we could offer the position of Crocodile's to Monkey D. Luffy. This way we could restore balance as well as keep the Strawhats in check." The youngest boldly proposed.

The other four scoffed at the proposition. "Monkey D. Luffy has yet to garner any significant reputation besides defeating Crocodile. His bounty currently sits at $100,000,000 and he has yet to taste what the New World is like." The mustache gentleman said.

"He's a rookie who hasn't been out at sea for that long. Not to mention he's from East Blue, the weakest of the four seas." The cane man commented.

The monk laughing began dying down. "Despite how ridiculous this proposition is, I think we should consider it." The others were shocked by the acceptance. "We already know what he's capable of at his current level, imagine when he gets stronger. His connections alone makes him a dangerous element."

"The fact that Mihawk let him live, only states just how high of an opinion he has of Strawhat. Most pirates don't face two Shichibukai and live to tell about it." The tall man said.

"This is ridiculous, Mihawk let him walk because he was bored. I don't approve of this proposal. I would prefer someone with a better reputation." The cane man suggested.

"And who do you have in mind that hasn't already rejected the position?" The monk asked. The cane man said nothing.

"Let's have the Shichibukai vote. After all this issue involves them." The tall man suggested. The mustache man scoffed at the suggestion.

"You think any of them actually cares? The only one who will be there is Kuma." He said.

"Nevertheless we should let them deal with this." The tall man countered, to which the others agreed.

 ***The next day***

Vice Admiral Tsuru patiently waited for Fleet Admiral Sengoku to arrive so the meeting could start. She let out a soft sigh at how mundane these meetings were. The higher ups decided that the Shichibukai should be the ones to decide on the next candidate. Yet for some reason she was here. It was most likely for damage control in case another Shichibukai besides Kuma comes.

As if reading her mind, two marines began fighting each other. She could clearly see that the fighters were unwilling so she knew the cause of it. "Doflamingo, stop playing around." She scolded the man dressed in pink feathers.

"Oh Tsuru-san is so scary." He said sarcastically. With a twitch of his fingers the marines began dancing to his rhythm. The marines reluctantly unsheathed their blades and pointed at one another.

"Enough. If you're attending the meeting, I suggest you sit down." Sengoku ordered as he walked into the room. With much displeasure, Doflamingo released his strings and like puppets, the two marines collapsed. Kuma and Doflamingo made their way towards the circular table with the latter taking a seat on the table. "I'm surprised that you're here, Doflamingo."

"I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'll stop by. Anyway I heard the geezers already decided on a replacement." Doflamingo replied with a smirk. Several of the marines rose in uproar for the lack of disrespect that the Shichibukai was showing.

"If this meeting is going to consist of arguments, perhaps I should leave." Mihawk announced as he strode through the room.

"To have three Shichibukai here, now this is a rare occurrence." Tsuru commented.

"Regardless Mihawk is right. The higher ups are wondering what the Shichibukai thoughts on Monkey D. Luffy taking over the empty spot." Sengoku told the room. Kuma showed no emotion per usual. Doflamingo had a knowing smirk on his face while Mihawk was surprised at the selection.

"Monkey D. Luffy is a rookie. I don't think he is ready for a position such a Shichibukai. Maybe in the future but right now, he wouldn't be able to last in the New World. My answer is no." The swordsman answered, as he still couldn't wrap his head on the fact that they want a rookie as a Shichibukai.

"Fuffu expect the geezers to really shake things up. I would prefer Portgas D. Ace but this is even more interesting. I say let the boy in, not like he's going to accept anyway." The flamboyant Shichibukai spoke his piece.

The attention turned to Kuma. "I will go with what the Gorosei decided. If they believe he's good enough to be a candidate, then I'll believe it as well. My answer is yes." Kuma replied monotonous. _'I'll need to speak with Dragon soon. This drastically changes plans.'_ Kuma thought as he remained impassive.

"With 2 out of the 3 votes in favor of Monkey D. Luffy's inclusion, I now state that Monkey D. Luffy is a candidate for Shichibukai." The fleet admiral announced. "Meeting dismissed and somebody get me Garp!" Sengoku ordered.

 ***Coast of Alabasta***

The Strawhat Pirates had said their farewells to their friends, Vivi and Carue. Everyone except Zoro was depressed that Vivi chose to remain a princess instead of traveling with them. The first mate spotted a marine ship ahead of them. "Oi, there's a marine ship in front of us." The swordsman yelled as he drew Wado Ichimouji. The crew immediately became alert and prepared for battle.

A lone figure with a dog hat raced towards them as if he was running on the air. Before they could react, the figure was upon the young captain. The figure announced his presence by pummeling Luffy's head into the hardwood. The marine removed his hat from his head. "Luffy, you've been doing some crazy things." Garp said with a grin.

"That's Garp, the Hero of the Marines!" Nami shouted. The Strawhats were shocked at the identity of the man. Zoro grabbed his other two katanas from their sheaths. If what the navigator said was true, then they were in a serious situation.

"He's here to capture Luffy!" Chopper and Usopp screamed as they hugged each other. Sanji leapt into the air while Zoro sprang towards the marine. Garp simply grabbed Sanji's leg and threw him at Zoro. The cook and the swordsman collided with each other.

Luffy got his head out of the floor to see his grandfather. "Geh, Jii-chan." The black haired male screamed. Garp grabbed his grandson by his vest.

 _'Jii-chan?'_ That one word echoed throughout the Strawhats' mind. "What do you mean, Jii-chan?" The crew yelled as they stared at the man holding their captain. The marine ship anchored right next to the Going Merry. The marines placed several planks, connecting the two ships together.

"Vice-Admiral Garp, you aren't supposed to attack the Strawhats." One of the marines yelled at his superior. The Strawhats were confused on what the marine was saying.

"I don't care. I need to show my idiot grandson the love he deserves." Garp barked back. He failed to notice that Luffy had pulled his arm back.

" **Gomu Gomu no Pistol."** The rubber man stretched his arm back and ready to deal a blow to his grandfather's face. Unfortunately the veteran marine spotted the attack from his peripheral vision and dodged the attack.

"You dare attack your grandfather!" The old man once again punched Luffy's noggin.

"Itai stop hitting me!" The Strawhat captain yelled in pain.

"How does his punch hurt you!?" Sanji shouted. "You're a rubber man." The cook reasoned but he was able to see that Luffy was indeed in pain. More and more marines stormed the Going Merry. Nami and Usopp grabbed their weapons while Chopper transformed to Heavy Point. They didn't expect the marines to start scolding Garp.

"Vice Admiral Garp, we're here on business." One of the men scolded the older man. Garp looked down in shame. The hero of the marines was handed a hammer, some nails, and wood to fix the damage he caused. The Strawhats were once again baffled at the scene.

"So Jii-chan why are you here?" Luffy asked as he rubbed his sore head. Garp turned to his grandson.

"Oi come here." Garp gestured to one of the marines while picking his nose. "Why are we here again?" The vice admiral asked. The marines and Strawhats fell down comically. Nami rubbed her temples in ease her headache.

' _They're definitely related to each other.'_ The navigator sighed as she heard Garp's laughter.

"On a serious note," Garp said seriously as he continued to pick his nose. "The World Government would like to offer Monkey D. Luffy the position of Shichibukai that was once held by Crocodile." Garp said as he flipped a bogger.

His crew didn't even have time to properly react before their captain answered. "No." Luffy replied while flipping his own bogger.

"Wait Luffy why did you refuse?" Nami yelled as she shook her captain, who looked uninterested.

"I don't want to follow anyone orders, especially from marines. I'm a pirate." Luffy answered.

"I'm pretty sure your stowaway wants you to accept the position." Garp commented, much to the confusion of everyone there. As on cue, Miss All Sunday stepped out from the cabin.

"Looks like you found me, Garp-san. Is this the 'Haki' I've heard about?" Nico Robin wondered.

"Eh!" The Strawhats yelled at the sudden appearance of Miss All Sunday on their ship. Even the marines tensed from her sudden appearance. The marines tried to arm themselves but found themselves empty handed.

"I would appreciate it if you don't point those things at me." Robin said with a smile as she tossed the weapons to the floor.

"Nico Robin, are you a part of my grandson's crew?" Garp asked.

"She's not, she's an enemy." Luffy proclaimed. Robin kept the smile on her face. The former enemy leaned on the wall as she faced Luffy.

"Monkey D. Luffy, I hope you didn't forget what you said to me." She said. Sanji was instantly on his captain, demanding answers.

"I don't remember saying anything to you." Luffy said as he ignored the cook.

"I remember and I expect you to take responsibility." Robin replied. Everyone on board except for Chopper, looked back and forth at Luffy and Robin.

"EH!" They all shouted at once except Sanji, who said he was going to kill Luffy. Garp stood up from his position and walked towards Robin. The stowaway crossed her arms and prepared to attack the Vice Admiral, although she knew that he was much stronger than her. Garp wrapped his arms around woman and lifted her off the air. Robin was taken completely off guard.

"Welcome to the family!" The grandfather shouted as he hugged Robin. The black haired woman was completely flabbergasted and failed to comment due to shock.

"LUFFY!" Sanji screamed. "How dare you lay your dirty fingers on such a delicate flower?" The blond said as tears rushed down his face. The captain tilted his head in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked as he didn't understand what was going on.

"I'm sorry Garp-san but your grandson and I aren't in a relationship." Robin clarified. The marine deflated when he heard the news. He gingerly let Robin go and silently went back to fixing the Going Merry. Ignoring him, Miss All Sunday turned back to Luffy. "I would like to join your crew."

"Luffy she was our enemy, you can't let her join the crew." Usopp tried to reason with his friend. Chopper remained openly hidden behind Usopp's leg. The reindeer wasn't afraid of the woman but she was an enemy so he remained cautious.

"You made me live when I wanted to die. Now I have nowhere to go and you're responsible for that." She reasoned with the Strawhat captain.

"Oh okay then. Sure you can join my crew." Luffy accepted. Sanji celebrated the new addition while the others wished the black haired male wasn't so easy going.

"Luffy we can't trust her." Nami told her idiot captain.

"Shishishi don't worry guys, she's not a bad person." Luffy replied with a toothy grin.

"If she joins your crew, you'll have to take the Shichibukai position." Garp said as he finished the repairs. He barked several orders to his men to fill the holes that Hina caused to the ship. The men did as commanded and began filling the holes. "Once you accept, all crimes that you and your subordinates committed will be nullified. Nico Robin is wanted by the World Government along with you and your swordsman." He explained as he pointed to Robin and Zoro.

"Zoro doesn't have a bounty on him." Usopp commented.

"He does after what you guys pulled in Alabasta." Garp explained as he held up two wanted posters. On one of them was Luffy's smiling face with a 100,000,000 beri price tag while Zoro had a 60,000,000 bounty. Zoro had a smirk on his face while Sanji deflated that he didn't have one. "Not to mention, Nico Robin's bounty of 79,000,000 beri." Garp added. The Strawhats turned to face the archaeologist.

"I think you should accept Captain-san. You get plenty of benefits from the position and you can help me out." Robin said with a smile. Zoro eyed the woman cautiously, considering she had a higher bounty than him.

"What other benefits do we get if Luffy accepts?" Zoro asked knowing that his captain wouldn't care to know. Garp motioned one of his men to explain.

"Besides having your crimes nullified, you'll receive a warrant to plunder other pirates and uncivilized land as long as you give a portion of your loot to the World Government." The man was about to continue but he was cut off by Nami.

"I refuse! No one's taking a single beri from me." The navigator shouted her displeasure. The marine chose to ignore the woman.

"You'll also be allowed autonomy as long as you report in times of war to assist the World Government. You'll be granted resources that only the World Government can provide. Here's a list of the resources." The man said as he handed the paper to Luffy, which Nami promptly snatched from his hands. The orange haired female read over the list and was surprised the amount of resources they could recieve.

"Luffy I think you should accept. As much as I hate that we have to give up some of our loot, the benefits are too good to pass up." Nami told her captain. The Strawhat captain rubbed his chin in thought.

"No, I want the freedom to explore and I don't want to take orders from the marines." Luffy answered firmly. The navigator gave him a blank stare.

"Captain-san autonomy means we can do whatever we like. We're only required to take orders in times of war." Robin explained as she lightly chuckled.

"Oh." Luffy said as he smacked his fist onto his palm. "Ok sure I ac-" Luffy was cut off by Zoro.

"Wait a minute Luffy. I want to know why you chose Luffy for the position." The first mate asked. The marines looked to Garp for the answer.

"They offered the position to Luffy because of his connections and for defeating Crocodile. I'm his grandfather, Dragon is his father, and Ace is his brother. Not to mention the fact that Luffy knows Red Hair Shanks." Garp replied half heartily since he wasn't particularly interested in the conversation. Silence filled the area as everyone took in what they just heard.

"EHH!" Another shout came as they registered what they heard.

' _No wonder Luffy's so strong. With those type of people in his life, he would've to be strong. Glad I chose a strong man to follow.'_ Zoro smirked as he saw his captain in a new light.

' _Oh my God! Luffy's family is crazy! Why does my captain have such crazy people in his life? Well Ace seems nice but he's also super strong.'_ Nami cried, wondering what she did to deserve this.

' _Luffy's family is insane. I can't believe I used to challenge him for captaincy. He could've killed me! I think I have the respect-Luffy-or-I-will-die-disease now.'_ Usopp fearfully thought as his teeth began chattering.

' _Where are all the woman in Luffy's life? All of the people that were mentioned are men. Not interested.'_ Sanji thought as he just took a breath of his cigarette.

' _Luffy's father is a Dragon? Does that mean he's just like me?'_ Chopper wondered as he imagined Luffy's family line.

' _I didn't expect him to have so many connections. I should've expected it, considering he is a 'D'. If he accepts the position, I might finally have a place to stay.'_ Robin's face had a smile which betrayed what she was really feeling. Garp finally realized what he had revealed.

"Can everyone just forget what they just heard?" The Vice-Admiral asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"As if we can!" Everyone else retorted.

"Oh by the way, Luffy I got someone who wants to meet you." Garp motioned a marine to come forward. Out of the crowd came a blonde boy and a pink hair boy.

"It has been a while Luffy-san, Zoro-san." The pink hair boy greeted. Zoro and Luffy tilted their heads in confusion. "I'm surprised you don't recognize me, it's me, Coby." Coby introduced himself. The two pirates were shocked at how much the boy had changed.

"Man you sure changed Coby." Luffy laughed while Zoro had a small grin. The trio talked until Helmeppo interrupted their conversation. Garp meanwhile glanced over at Robin.

"Nico Robin I don't know what you have planned but I will let you be. After all I trust in Aokiji's judgement to let you go." Garp said. Robin tensed at the mention of the Admiral's name.

"I'll keep that in mind Garp-san." Robin simply replied. A marine came up to Garp and told the Vice Admiral that the repairs were finished.

"Alright Luffy, I'll go tell the higher ups of your decision. Even though you're still a pirate, at least now you're on my side." Garp told grandson.

"Ok bye." Luffy dismissed his grandfather. For that he received another Fist of Love. "Itai, what was that for?" Luffy yelled.

"I'm leaving, at least act sad." Garp yelled back. The two continued arguing even as the marines dragged Garp away. The marines left the Strawhats and headed towards headquarters.

Luffy looked at his crew. "Let's set sail!" The Strawhat captain shouted to which they responded.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as 11/8/15.

 **A.N.**

Wow, I didn't expect this story to get this much positive feedback for the first chapter. Thank you for the support. I've things planned for the story and I just need to piece it all together. Anyway here is the much awaited chapter 2.

 **Chapter 2: Falling Galleon**

"What do you mean pull back!?" Smoker shouted into the receiver of the Den Den Mushi.

"Strawhat Luffy is officially a Shichibukai meaning he's a pirate _on our side._ " Vice Admiral Momonga stressed those words, hoping to clearly convey the message.

"I don't care if he's a Shichibukai or not." The commodore retorted. "Once a pirate, always a pirate."

"Commodore Smoker, this is an order to pull back and stop chasing Strawhat. Report back to HQ immediately or you will be demoted." Momonga ordered before hanging up. Smoker roughly slammed his receiver down.

"Hina thinks Smoker should listen to his superiors." The cigarette smoking captain advised her longtime friend as she walked into the cabin. Smoker leaned back into the chair as he lit a cigar.

"That means I don't need to listen to you." The commodore replied as he blew smoke into the air.

"Honestly Hina is trying to help you." The marine captain huffed. "Smoker, you should listen to orders."

"I have to be the one to catch Strawhat Luffy. He thinks he could wreck my town and leave. Well he has another thing coming, Shichibukai or not." Smoker replied as he smashed his fist. Hina shook her head. "Tashigi get in here!" He shouted for his subordinate. The swordswoman clumsily entered the room.

"Sergeant Tashigi reporting Commodore Smoker!" Tashigi saluted as she fixed her glasses.

"Strawhat Luffy has taken the open slot in the Shichibukai." He informed. Tashigi flinched at the news. The female marine was still reeling from the fact that she had let them go in Alabasta. The swordswoman had vowed that she would get stronger so that she would be able to catch them.

"Does that mean we'll no longer be pursuing the Strawhat Pirates?" Tashigi asked as she gripped the hilt of her katana. Seeing his subordinate confirmed what Smoker needed to do.

"Tashigi, as of right now, you and I are defecting from the marines." Smoker declared, much to the shock of the people in the room. Hina was the first to recover.

"Smoker are you crazy!?" The marine captain questioned her friend's sanity. "After working so hard to rise up in the ranks, you're going to defect just to catch some pirate!" Hina yelled out.

"Hina-san is right Captain Smoker." Tashigi agreed with the other female. "At least resign from the marines before chasing Strawhat. That way we won't be labeled as criminals." The marine sergeant suggested. The pink haired female dropped her cigarette as she stood there baffled at the two.

"Hina is shocked." She commented. Tashigi bowed to her.

"I'm sorry Hina-san but I made a promise to get stronger so that I can catch the Strawhat Pirates. In Alabasta, I let them escape but the next time will be different." The glasses wearing female said with conviction. Smoker smirked as he could see that Tashigi was coming into her own. The commodore picked up the Den Den Mushi and dialed Vice Admiral Momonga's line.

"Smoker, what is it?" Momonga asked.

"As of this moment, I, Commodore Smoker, and Sergeant Tashigi resign from the marines." Smoker answered.

"YOU WHAT!?" The voice from the receiver screamed. "Smoker don't be rash. I know what you're feeling right now but you need to think this through." Momonga tried to reason.

"My decision is final." Smoker replied as he hanged up. "Tashigi pack your things." Smoker commanded and the swordswoman did as told.

"Smoker you're an idiot." Hina sighed as she pulled out another cigarette. She had a feeling that she was going to have to buy several packs of cigarettes before the day was over.

"To be honest, I was getting fed up with the marines anyway. When they originally gave me credit for defeating Crocodile, I knew I couldn't follow their brand of justice. I believe in justice and I will follow it my own way." The now ex-marine commented as he walked out of the room.

 ***With the Strawhats***

Meanwhile, the Going Merry sailed peacefully as it carried its crew across the water. On board, members of the crew was still cautious about their newest crew member, Nico Robin. The raven haired woman gazed at Luffy and Chopper, who were currently playing with her hands that she produced using her Devil Fruit. Up above, Usopp, Nami, and Zoro eyed Robin with suspicion. The kitchen door was kicked up to reveal a twirling Sanji. "Robin-chwan, here is your tea." The cook gracefully delivered a cup of tea to the archaeologist.

"I can't believe Luffy let her join. Doesn't he remember that she fought against us in Alabasta?" Nami sighed as she wondered what was going on in her captain's head. _'He's probably thinking about meat.'_ The navigator thought and the boy wearing the straw hat confirmed her thoughts when he shouted towards Sanji to make him some meat.

Usopp didn't want to anything to do with the lady as he was afraid of her. The fact that she was Crocodile's partner essentially guaranteed her on his 'Never Piss Off' list. Luffy had also recently made his name on that list.

Although Zoro was also suspicious of the woman, he wanted to fight her more than anything. The fact that her bounty was higher than his meant that she was strong. Her Devil Fruit was dangerous as she was able to sprout body parts anywhere she wished.

"I take it that you three still don't trust me." Robin glanced at the trio before taking a sip of her tea. "Now what am I going to do with this bag of jewels?" The raven haired woman wondered as she placed the bag on the table. Nami instantly leapt from the railing and glopped onto the older female.

"Onee-sama." The younger woman hugged Robin as she skillfully grabbed the bag from the table and pocketed it.

' _Greedy woman.'_ Usopp and Zoro thought as they saw how quickly Nami changed her stance.

"Hey Usopp." Luffy's voice beckoned the sniper. The long nose male turned to see two hands had sprouted on Luffy's hat making it look like antlers. "Chopper." The captain said, causing the Usopp to topple down in laughter. He instantly joined in the games with Luffy and Chopper. The first mate sweat dropped at the scene.

' _They're all idiots.'_ Zoro thought as he looked at the crew. The swordsman went downstairs on the deck. Although he was still cautious, the green haired male needed to know something about the archaeologist."What's your purpose?" Zoro questioned the newest member, who turned to him.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, swordsman-san. As I explained, I'm here because I have nowhere else to go." The Hana user answered with a smile as she turned her gaze to the swordsman. The green haired male doubted that was the only reason but decided to not pursue the matter.

"Anyway what is this 'Haki' thing you were talking about when Luffy's grandfather found you?" He asked since it had been nagging him. Zoro was unable to sense the woman's presence yet Garp did as soon as the marine landed on the ship. This got the crew's attention as they were also curious.

"Can it kill us?" The cowardly individual asked as he hid behind Luffy. The archaeologist turned her body so she could face the crew.

"I don't exactly know what Haki is exactly but apparently it's the ability to sense the world around you as well as strengthen your attacks and defenses." The Hana user explained. Several of the members were intrigued on what Haki could do for them. Nami and Usopp imagined the possibility of avoiding enemies by simply knowing where they were. Zoro smirked at the prospect of getting even stronger.

"Sugoi! So it's like a super awesome thingy that makes me strong!?" Luffy exclaimed with stars in his eyes. Chopper caught his enthusiasm and also had stars in his eyes. Robin put a hand over her mouth as she chuckled at her captain's enthusiasm.

"Unfortunately I don't know how to obtain Haki." The archaeologist said as she dampened the mood.

"Well that's fine. We'll get stronger on our own." Luffy smiled, which reassured the rest of the crew. The Strawhats went about their separate businesses as the conversation ended.

Usopp was telling Chopper of his grand adventures with lies mixed in. The captain demanded a snack, which Sanji was making in the kitchen. Nami and Robin were chatting about the next island. Zoro picked up his weights to begin training when pellets of some kind began falling from the sky. "Holy shit!" The first mate shouted as his eyes threatened to leave their sockets. The rest of the crew followed his gaze and saw the most unbelievable sight. A humongous galleon was falling out of the sky and it was heading straight for them!

"Somebody steer the ship away!" The navigator yelled to anyone near the helm. Unfortunately no one was nearby. Robin used her abilities to grab the wheel and tried her best to steer it from danger. The waves were making it difficult to steer the ship to safety.

"Protect the ship." The sniper shouted as he grabbed onto the main mast. Zoro unsheathed his katanas and began slicing wreckage that was headed towards the Going Merry. Sanji kicked away the sliced pieces, displaying a rare partnership between the two men.

"Oi Moss Head stop slicing everything, you're going to hit the ladies." The cook shouted as he kicked away some more debris. "Don't worry Robin-chwan and Nami-swan, your knight is here to protect you." The blonde said gallantly as he turned to the ladies. Zoro 'accidently' diverted some rubble, making it hit Sanji.

"My bad Curly Brow knight, I didn't see you there." The green haired man said sarcastically. The duo started to fight each other with the falling galleon as their backdrop.

"Oi this isn't the time for you two to be fighting!" The orange haired female berated the idiots. Meanwhile Luffy was grabbing wreckage that came near the ship and was dunking it into the sea. The captain caught a glance of Chopper and Usopp praying.

"What are you doing?" The captain asked as he grabbed a broken sail.

"Luffy don't inter- AHH!" The long nose member was interrupted by a diving skeleton. After a few tense minutes, the sky finally cleared up.

"Where did the ship come from?" Luffy asked as he stretched his neck into the sky. "I can only see clouds."

"AHH!" Nami screamed, which got the attention of the crew. "The log pose is broken." The navigator shouted as she showed the instrument to the crew. Unlike before, the arrow was pointing up.

"Navigator-san the log pose isn't broken. It's simply locked onto another island. A sky island to be exact." Robin explained.

"Sky Island!" The captain yelled as his mind thought of their next adventure.

"I wonder if we're going to meet beautiful angels." Sanji commented as he imagined himself surrounded by maidens with wings.

"We have to find a way to get up there first." The cat burglar reminded the two. "As you can see." She gestured to their surroundings. "There's no way up there."

"What is Luffy doing?" Chopper asked as he pointed his hoof to his captain, who was out in the sea on the driftwood. Luffy searched the pieces of the wood while ignoring the shouts of his crew members. He spotted a piece of paper floating on top of a piece of broken wood. As soon as he grasped the paper, his footing slipped.

The doctor immediately dove in to rescue Luffy, completely forgetting about his own inability to swim. Zoro and Sanji quickly dove overboard to rescue the two Devil Fruit users. It didn't take long for them to fish the anchors out.

"Hey guys look what I found." Luffy said as he held out a map of Skypiea. Nami snatched the parchment from his hands and studied it. "That means there is a sky island." The raven haired boy proclaimed. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper couldn't contain their excitement as they danced around the ship.

"Hold up. For all we know, this is a fake map." Nami clarified much to the dismay of the trio. "Anyway we need more information than this."

"It's possible to find something of use on the galleon but the ship is sinking." Robin said as she pointed to the sinking galleon.

"Let's salvage it." Usopp commented.

"How are we going to do that?" Sanji wondered since they had no way to pull up the sunken ship. The sniper got an idea and went into the cabin to get the equipment. Several minutes later, he came out with a makeshift diving suit. A barrel was given to each member of the monster trio, with Luffy getting an extra one. They outfitted themselves with the barrels.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Luffy asked since he was the most in danger if the suit didn't work.

"Trust me Luffy, my work is perfect." The inventor of the suit assured. The others wasn't as confident at the frequent liar's words.

"Alright you guys will be fine. Off you go." Nami shooed.

"Don't worry Nami-swan, I'll find whatever it is that we are looking for." Sanji said exuberantly.

"Whatever you say Shitty Cook." Zoro said as he prepared to jump in, from the wrong side.

"Swordsman-san, the wreckage is on this side." The older woman directed. The crew started laughing at the first mate, who grudgingly walked back to them.

"How did you end up over there?" The navigator said as she sighed.

"Don't worry Zoro, I'm going to make some medicine that will cure you of your lack of direction." Chopper confidently promised. The trio jumped into the water and sank into the sea. "Chopper here, reply if Zoro is still with you." The reindeer asked.

"Oi I don't get lost that easily." Zoro shouted back.

"Chopper I found him. Oh wait, that's some moss." Sanji responded.

"Come here so I can kill you, Ero-cook." Zoro replied. Throughout the bickering, Luffy's laughter could be heard as the trio neared the sunken ship. Robin started to hear music in the air. To confirm her suspicions, a ship with a monkey figure head came near them.

"Crew stop the ship." A bellowing voice ordered. The voice came into view of the Strawhats. The monkey like man looked out into the sea. "Let's salvage, men." He shouted and received cheers. He then spotted the Strawhats. "Hey what are you guys doing in my territory?"

"This is your territory?" Nami asked skeptically.

"Of course, every sunken ship in these parts belong to me. My crew and I salvage these ships and we are the best in the business." Masira answered as he turned to his crew. "Alright crew prepare the hook." The crew did as commanded. A few seconds later the hook was attached to the sunken ship.

"Captain, hook is attached." One of the members reported.

"Alright Barco Hunter forward." At the signal, the figure head dove into the sea and connected with the hook. Usopp and Chopper were amazed at the contraption. Masira began blowing air into the machine, lifting the sunken ship up.

"Captain, the crew is being attacked." A member informed. The salvage captain fumed that someone was attacking a member of his crew.

"I'm going down, continue pulling the ship." The monkey-man told as he dove into the water. A sea king tried to make him its meal but a swift **Monkey Punch** was all that it received. Masira busted into the galleon to find the Monster Trio.

"A monkey." Luffy commented, much to Masira's delight.

"Wait, what are you guys doing in here?" The monkey asked. No one was able to answer as darkness crept up on them. Above the surface, everyone sans Robin was freaking out at the sight of the mammoth turtle.

"Captain!" The salvaging crew screamed as they watched the turtle chew on the galleon.

"What in the heck is that?" Nami screamed in fright.

"I don't know what you are talking about because I didn't see a giant turtle eating Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji." Usopp replied while covering his eyes.

"Stop munching!" Chopper tried to stop the turtle but it wasn't listening.

"Perhaps we should do something about the ropes." Robin coolly suggested as the Going Merry was being pulled to the turtle.

"Usopp cut the ropes." The orange haired female quickly ordered.

"You're going to abandon them Nami!" Usopp yelled as the sky suddenly turned dark.

"What's going on?" Chopper asked while panicking. The archaeologist saw something get tossed into the air. She used her abilities to save Luffy from face planting onto the ship. "Luffy!" The doctor cried out as he checked on his captain. A few seconds later, Sanji and Zoro appeared with bags on their shoulders.

"Oi, where did the sun go?" The swordsman asked as he was pretty sure it wasn't nighttime.

"More importantly, you guys are safe. How did you escape the turtle?" The long nose member asked much to the confusion of Sanji and Zoro.

"That was a monkey not a turtle. It got along with Luffy until it saw the sacks of stuff." The cook explained.

"That was Masira but I'm talking about that." Usopp said as he pointed to the turtle.

"What the hell is that!?" The cook and swordsman exclaimed.

"Anyway we need to get out of here." Nami said as she began ordering the crew. Luffy woke up shortly after.

"Did I sleep that long?" The raven haired male asked in confusion as he saw that the sky was dark.

"We'll explain later Luffy, just help us move the ship." Usopp said as he helped Zoro.

"You cannot leave." Masira said as he leapt onto the Going Merry.

"C-captain d-danger." His crew warned him. Masira turned around to see towering silhouettes in the sky. The silhouettes made the giants of Elbaf look normal in comparison.

"Monsters!" Everyone screamed as they all made desperate attempts to escape the figures in the sky. The Strawhats rowed Going Merry with finesse as the ship sped away from the giants. The crew relaxed as soon as there was light again.

"The Grand Line gets weirder every day." Sanji commented as he lit his cigarette. The rest of the members including Masira nodded. They slowly turned towards the monkey.

"Get out of here!" The monster trio shouted as the launched Masira into the air.

"There's nothing of value in here." Nami told the crew as she dug through the stuff. The crew turned their attention to the navigator as she already went through all three bags.

"Maybe this could help, Navigator-san." Robin said as she produced an Eternal Log Pose. "I was able to snatch this from Monkey-san's ship."

The younger woman hugged the archaeologist with all of her might. "Robin you're the only one I could rely on." Nami said as tears surfaced. The raven haired woman sweat dropped at the display.

"Nami what's that?" The rubber man asked over her shoulder.

"Apparently it's a log pose towards Masira's headquarters. The place is called," The navigator read the name that was on the pose. "Jaya."

 ***Meanwhile at Marine Headquarters***

"What did you say Garp?" Sengoku asked, hoping that he misheard his comrade's words.

"I said that Nico Robin is a part of my grandson's crew." The Hero of the Marines repeated. The fleet admiral's eyes widen in shock.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Sengoku shouted as he stood up. The vice-admiral looked uninterested as he took the tea cup into his hand.

"I just got back. I didn't feel like telling you over the Den Den Mushi." Garp explained. Sengoku paced around the room.

"The Gorosei is not going to like that she's out there." The fleet admiral sighed as he sat back down.

"They're the ones who offered Luffy the position. We can't do anything to the girl now." Garp commented.

"You don't understand Garp. News have most likely reached them about her whereabouts. They would do anything to get rid of her." Sengoku said seriously.

"She is protected by the fact that Luffy is a Shichibukai. Her crimes are nulled since she is his subordinate." Luffy's grandfather retorted as he took a bite out of his cracker.

"Then that means they are going to take away your grandson's status, one way or another." Sengoku said grimly.

 **Reviews:**

 **LittlemissTrafalgar** \- The Battle of Marineford will appear in this story although it'll be different from the original.

 **Monkey D. Conan –** Almost everything is going to be changed from canon. Whether the changes are small or big, remains to be seen. Franky, Brook, and Thousand Sunny will still be in the crew while I am planning to add some other characters to the crew. I am a fan of LuNa but I am unsure what to do with this story regarding romance. I'll most likely decide later on.

 **moonlight72** \- This concept is pretty original, I think. I don't think the Bellamy fight (if you can call it that) is going to change. I might make it a little different.

 **Johnny Spectre -** I'm not sure about the captain's coat. I like Luffy as he is so I think I'll just stay with his original outfit.

 **Lightningblade49 -** There will be some negatives. I already have one planned but that is much later in the story. You got Smoker's reaction and you will see others soon enough. People with bounties will join, just don't know who yet.

 **OnePieceFan2 -** You already have some solid theories and you're more or less correct on some parts. I'm writing this as I go so I don't have everything planned out.

 **Son of Whitebeard -** The current warlords in my story are Luffy, Jinbei, Boa Hancock, Gecko Moria, Doflamingo, Kuma, and Mihawk.

P.S. I don't respond to guest reviews but thank you to the guests that reviewed.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 11/9/15. I've changed Sabo's scene to reflect the new information that was revealed in the manga.

 **A.N.**

Hey everybody, thanks for reading this story. Anyway I have a question for you guys. I was wondering if you guys preferred the English names or Japanese names for things like attacks and monikers. For example, do you prefer Strawhat or Mugiwara? Thanks for helping make this story better.

 **Chapter 3: Reactions**

News of Luffy's insertion into the ranks of the Shichibukai had spread across all the seas. Luffy's various accomplishments were published while his lineage was kept hidden. Just about everyone had an opinion on the newest member. Many were skeptical about Luffy's credentials to be a member because of his low bounty and the fact that he was a rookie. Some pirates believed it would be easy to defeat Luffy and gain his spot in the Shichibukai. Not all pirates were ready to seek out the young pirate captain though. Those who knew of Monkey D. Garp were cautious as his grandson would most likely be a force to be reckoned with. Another person was wondering what in the world was his little brother thinking.

"What are you thinking Luffy?" Ace wondered out loud as he laid in his raft. "Oh wait he doesn't think." The older brother remembered. The fire user was currently sailing aimlessly, trying to find Marshal D Teach. "I leave him for one minute and he does something like this." He sighed. Why did his little brother have to be so difficult? "I'm going to have to talk to him but first I got to find Teach." Ace concluded as he went to the next island to look for clues.

 ***At the base of the Revolutionary Army***

Dragon was having a meeting with his leaders that were present at the base when the Den Den Mushi rang. Dragon picked up the receiver while waking the White Den Den Mushi to avoid any wiretaps. "Dragon we have a problem." Came the voice of Bartholomew Kuma.

"What's wrong Kuma?" Dragon asked. He knew that Kuma only called to relay crucial information.

"Monkey D. Luffy has been given the rank of Shichibukai." The Paw Man informed his leader. The name triggered something inside a certain young man's head.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Sabo wondered, leaning back on his chair.

"Is this information accurate Kuma-san?" One of the revolutionary leaders asked.

"Hai Monkey D. Luffy aka Strawhat Luffy has officially entered the Shichibukai ranks." Kuma repeated. The name once again struck a chord in the blonde man's head. "Dragon although it's not public knowledge, the marines have found about your connection to him." Kuma informed, much to the other leaders' confusion.

"So they found out that he's my son." The Revolutionary smirked as he figured they would find out eventually. They only needed to ask Garp and his father would spill everything. The leaders were trying to process that their ruthless leader was a father. Forget father. They thought the man was a robot as he wouldn't react to anything.

"Does he know about you? About the revolutionary army?" The leaders asked, wondering if their leader had planned to make his son a Shichibukai.

"No, he doesn't know me or about the revolutionary army. I've only met him twice." Dragon replied as headed outside with the Den Den Mushi. The other leaders began to have their own conversations on what they just learned.

"I wonder who the mother is." Someone said.

"I can't believe that a woman let Dragon-san touch her." One of the leaders said in disbelief. The others nodded in agreement.

"I heard that." Dragon said as he opened the door slightly. The members tensed as they were caught. He closed the door before returning to his conversation with Kuma.

"What do you make of this Kuma?" Dragon asked.

"They're most likely hoping to corral him before he becomes a thorn in their side. He is a D, as well as your family." Kuma answered.

"Alright keep watch for now." The revolutionary ordered. "Any other news?"

"Nico Robin has become your son's crewmember." Kuma informed. Dragon was pleased at the news.

"That's great news. Be prepared to move out in case new developments occur." Dragon ordered before hanging up. Dragon smiled as he had finally found the piece to exposing the World Government. Back inside, Sabo couldn't get the name out of his head.

"Luffy…Luffy…Luffy." The number 2 of the Revolutionary Army chanted, trying to identify why the name sounded familiar. A pulsing headache was forming as sweat dripped down from Sabo's face. He grabbed his head in frustration, knocking off his top hat.

"Sabo are you okay?" Koala asked as she saw that Sabo's face was really pale.

"Luffy…" Sabo managed to gasp out. His breaths were becoming unsteady as his heart beat quicken.

"What about Strawhat Luffy?" Hack inquired while making his way over. He had never seen the young man in a state like this. The words Strawhat and Luffy had finally managed pierced through Sabo's brain, retrieving memories of his youth.

"AHHH!" Sabo shouted as lost memories began to surface. He slowly began to remember his past and more importantly his brothers. "Luffy…Ace." The blonde man passed out after saying the names of his brothers.

"Sabo?" Koala said his name in worry. "Someone get a medic!" The girl shouted as Sabo laid unconscious on the floor.

 ***On an island in the New World***

"Captain big news." A subordinate ran to where the officers were resting.

"What is it?" Shanks grumbled as he was recovering from a hangover. The subordinate handed his captain the newspaper. "Hmm." The red head man mumbled as he began to read the paper. As he kept on reading, his eyes got bigger. "LUFFY'S A SHICHIBUKAI!?" The leader of the Red Hair Pirates yelled out. The rest of the crew were also surprised by the news. Soon Shanks was laughing in amusement. "You can never know what Luffy will do next." Shanks stood up from his position.

"What's up Captain?" Benn Beckman asked.

"It's time to set sail. I need to meet with an old man." Shanks said with his cape swaying behind him.

 ***In Alabasta***

Vivi was quietly reading the newspaper with Ingram and her father hovering over her. They wondered how she was going to react, especially the news of Miss All Sunday joining the Strawhats.

"Vivi are you okay?" Cobra asked in concern.

"Yeah of course. I was just wondering what would have happen if I remained with the crew." The blue haired female said as she reminisced the fun times she had with the Strawhats.

"Aren't you shocked about Luffy-kun's decision or that Miss All Sunday joined the Strawhat Pirates?" Ingram, himself was trying to process everything. The princess smiled at him.

"I know Luffy-san long enough to know that you can never know what's going on his head. I trust Luffy-san judgement because he's the man that will become the Pirate King." Vivi said with confidence.

"I'm sorry that you have to stay here instead of traveling with them." Cobra apologized as he admired his daughter's unselfishness.

"It's not your fault, it was my decision." Vivi assured.

"I am glad you chose to stay Vivi-sama." Pell commented as he stepped into the room. The room brightened up as they saw a man that they believed was dead.

"PELL!" Vivi shouted as she hugged the head guard.

"Ow Vivi-sama. Easy on the grip, I'm still recovering." Pele said as he winced in pain. Vivi pulled back to avoid further injuring her friend.

"How did you survive?" Vivi asked as she remember seeing Pele fly off with the bomb.

"I honestly don't know but I believe the explosion sent me skyward, allowing me to survive the blast. Otherwise I wouldn't be standing here today. Afterwards a kind old man bandaged me. I left when I heard your speech." Pell explained how he survived.

"Well I'm glad you're back Pell." Cobra said as he hugged Pell. "Let's celebrate the return of a friend." Cobra shouted as the palace was festive once again.

 ***Back with the Strawhats***

The Strawhats had just docked safely in Mock Town, where there were no laws. Murderers, robbers, pirates, and drunks populate the city of no rules. Only the strong survive here as the strong prey on the weak. "I'm not going." Came the scared voices of Nami, Usopp, and Chopper. This city was not meant from them especially after they heard the shout of murder.

"Well I'm going. This seems like my type of town." Zoro said as he hopped off the Going Merry.

"Me too. It seems fun Shishishi." Luffy laughed as he too began leaving. The captain and the first mate walked further into town.

"We can't let them go by themselves. They won't be able to find us any information." Nami said as she groaned.

"I'll go with them if you like." Robin volunteered as she was going to investigate anyway.

"Onee-san/Robin" Nami and Chopper shouted as they hugged the older woman. Usopp was still wary of the woman but nonetheless thankful that she volunteered. Robin left the ship to catch up to the duo that already left.

"Ok I need to grab some supplies in town." Sanji said as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Don't leave us too Sanji." Usopp cried as he grabbed onto the cook. If Sanji left, there would be nobody here to protect them.

"You're strong enough. I just need to grab some ingredients to stock up." Sanji said as he tried to pry Usopp off him.

"Please stay and protect us Sanji-kun." Nami pleaded with puppy eyes. It had an instant effect.

"Anything for you Nami-swan!" Sanji shouted as he knelt down in front of Nami. "I'll be your knight in shining armor."

"Oi what about us?" Chopper and Usopp screamed.

Back with the trio with bounties, Luffy had just received an apple from Doc Q. As soon as he took a bite into the apple, a building exploded.

"Holy shit! What happened?" A random civilian asked.

"These guys exploded after they took apples from a weird, sickly man." A guy answered. Robin and Zoro instantly turned to Luffy, who just swallowed the apple. Zoro grabbed his katanas while Robin crossed her arms in case they were under attack.

"Oi what are you trying to pull?" Zoro asked. _'Are they after Luffy's position?'_ He wondered.

"Hehe *cough* he chose a lucky one." Doctor Q pointed at Luffy. "If he bit into a bad one, then it would have exploded. He's really lucky." Doctor Q said grimly as he and Stronger left.

"What an amusing town." Robin laughed now that the situation was settled.

"I know. I could've died." Luffy replied nonchalantly as dying was normal.

"I want to fight someone." Zoro said as he was itching to test his skills that he gained from fighting Mr. 1. As if the heavens were answering his call, a man was laughing on top of a tower.

"Look it's the champion guy. I don't know who he is but he has been defeating everyone who fought him." A pirate said as he passed by the Strawhats.

"Champion?" Zoro and Luffy were instantly intrigued.

"Hold up swordsman-san and captain-san. Perhaps we should gather information first on Sky Island before attacking anyone." Robin advised.

"Oh yeah Sky Island!" Luffy said excitingly, completely forgetting about the champion. Zoro reluctantly sheathed his blades. The trio continued their stroll in Mock Town until they came across a resort.

"Oh this place seems nice and I smell food." Luffy observed as he sniffed the air.

"First time I've seen houses built on top of the water." Zoro commented.

"I wonder why this place is peaceful unlike the rest of the town." Robin wondered as the place looked serene.

"Customers you can't be here. Tropical Hotel has been brought out by Bellamy-sama. Please leave before Bellamy-sama sees you." The hotel owner informed as he moved closer to them.

"Bellamy?" Luffy said the name. "Is that some sort of meat?" He began to droll slightly.

"Where the hell you dirty kids come from?" Sarkies asked as he came up to the trio.

"Sarkies-sama welcome back to the Tropical Hotel." The hotel owner welcomed nervously.

"Get lost kids. We spent good money to buy this place out." Lily shouted.

"You heard the lady kid, get lost." Sarkies smirked.

"Are you stupid?" Luffy asked, much to the shock of the two members of the Bellamy Crew.

"Oi do you know who you're talking to?" Sarkies towered over Luffy. "I'm the first mate of Bellamy Pirates, BigKnife Sarkies with a bounty of 38 million." He proudly announced. The Strawhats looked unamused and unimpressed. "You're lucky you caught me on a good day. Here's some money for you dirt poor kids." He laughed as tossed money onto the ground.

Zoro looked ready to murder the guy, Robin remained impassive, while Luffy was ecstatic. "You giving us free money. Shishishi you aren't so bad after all." The Strawhat captain laughed as he was about to pick up the money when his crewmates stopped him.

"Captain-san, he's making fun of us by giving us money." Robin explained.

"Hehe not like you useless trash can do anything anyway." Sarkies taunted.

"Careful Sarkies, that Strawhat kid is worth 30 million." A member of the Bellamy informed mockingly as he held up Luffy's old wanted poster.

"This runt here is worth 30 million." Sarkies appraised Luffy. "Haha that must be some sort of joke." He was unable to control his laughter.

"Hey you use a sword right?" Zoro decided to jump into the conversation.

"Yeah what's it to you moss head?" Sarkies insulted, when he noticed Zoro's katanas. "Oh you want to fight. Sure, I don't mind killing you." Sarkies said as he brought out two giant kukri knives. Zoro tighten his bandana around his head and unsheathed all three blades.

"I'll let you have a taste of what fighting someone with a 38 million bounty feels like." Sarkies said as he dashed forward. To Zoro, it was like Sarkies was moving in slow motion. The Bellamy Pirate had no form and simply rushed in. Zoro parried the kukri knives but it felt light. This guy was way weaker than Mr.1.

' _This is a 38 million guy. He's weak."_ Zoro concluded as he dashed. Sarkies didn't know what happened as Zoro had disappeared from his sight. Suddenly he was soaring into the air, unsure what had hit him. Sarkies crashed into the hotel in a heap. The Bellamy pirate laid there defeated with blood running down his face. "Don't worry. I only used the back of my blades." Zoro said disappointingly as he sheathed his blades. The members of Bellamy Pirates were shocked that their first mate was easily beaten by a no name swordsman.

Frighten by the people in front of them, they just watched as the Strawhats left the hotel. "S-Somebody go get Bellamy!" One of them finally managed to speak. Lily went to go find her captain while the others attended to Sarkies. Lily finally found him as Bellamy had just finished beating Roshio to death. "Bellamy we got a problem!" Lily shouted as she told her captain what had transpired.

Meanwhile Robin decided to split up to make the information search faster. Zoro and Luffy agreed before they headed towards a bar. During this time, News Coo delivered the latest paper to Mock Town. A pirate near the harbor picked up the paper but thought nothing of it. The pirate went towards the same bar as Zoro and Luffy, failing to notice that a marine ship had docked. "I'm going to kill him." Bellamy proclaimed as he tore Luffy's old bounty poster to pieces.

"Ahh! That beer hit the spot." Zoro said in content as he finished chugging the beer. Luffy, on the other hand, was trying the bar's cheery pie and grape soda.

"Hey old man/Hey mister." Two voices shouted to the bartender.

"This cherry pie tastes so good, I'm going to die/This cherry pie tastes so bad, I'm going to die." The two of them said simultaneously. Luffy looked at the idiot who said the pie was good. A bulking man sat beside him. Something inside Luffy told him that he wasn't going to get along with this guy. They both grabbed the grape soda and chugged.

"This soda is so bad/This soda is so good." Once again the two had a difference in opinion.

"Oi is something wrong with your taste buds?" Teach wondered if Luffy could taste right.

"Is something wrong with your brain?" Luffy responded. Electricity could be seen in-between the two.

"You want to fight?" They said at the same time. Zoro accidently spit out his beer.

"How in the world did you start fighting?" The swordsman yelled. The barkeep was able to quell the tension by giving Teach some pies. As Teach was exiting, he caught sight of a furious Bellamy.

"Oi is Monkey D. Luffy here?" Bellamy asked in a voice that made most of the patrons quiver.

"It's Bellamy!" A patron yelled.

"Strawhat Luffy, worth 30 million. I came to thank you for what you did to my subordinate." The spring user said as he cracked his knuckles. One patron caught Luffy's moniker and remember it from somewhere. He reached for the newspaper that he picked up and opened it to see Luffy's face on the front.

"Holy shit!" He yelled, diffusing the atmosphere. Everyone turned to him as he shakenly held up the newspaper. "That guy is a Shichibukai!" He shouted as he displayed the newspaper. Everyone in the bar looked at the newspaper and then at Luffy. They repeated this action until their brain processed the information.

"It's a Shichibukai!" Everyone in the bar scrambled away, fleeing for their lives. All of them was wondering why one of the Seven Warlords was in Mock Town. The bar emptied out with Luffy, Zoro, and Bellamy remaining. The newspaper landed next to Bellamy, who picked it up.

"Haha as if a 30 million guy like you could be a Shichibukai. I've met a real Shichibukai before and you certainly aren't one." Bellamy laughed as he refused to believe that someone like Luffy held the same title as his idol. "I've got to admit you're pretty clever for pulling a stunt like this." The Hyena said as he tore the paper to shreds. "Maybe I'll even become Shichibukai after I beat you." He said sarcastically.

Luffy noticed that Bellamy's legs had slowly turned into springs. **"Spring Snipe."** Bellamy sprung straight at the black haired boy, ready to deliver a punch. The Strawhat captain saw the attack coming and simply swayed his body out of the way. His first mate also jumped out of harm's way as Bellamy crashed into the bar counter. The spring user launched forward again, forcing the Strawhats out of the building. "Haha you're in my territory now! **Spring Hopper."** Bellamy began bouncing off of buildings as he closed in on Luffy.

"Let me handle this Zoro." The Strawhat captain ordered as he cocked his fist. Zoro acknowledged the command and leapt away from the fight.

"Good choice of sending your first mate away so he doesn't see you lose." Bellamy commended as he increased his speed. As soon as he reached maximum speed he dove straight towards Luffy. "Goodbye Strawhat." The blonde male shouted as his arm became a spring as well. He fired his spring arm towards Luffy. The black haired male easily caught the fist much to the surprise of Bellamy. Unable to retract his spring arm, Bellamy was on a collision course with the fellow Devil Fruit user.

As soon as the blonde was in Luffy's range, the Strawhat drove his fist into Bellamy's cheek. Dust clouds appeared as the Hyena's body impacted the ground. Once the dust cleared, you can see an unconscious Bellamy with a fist imprinted into his face. Zoro reappeared by Luffy's side as soon as fight was over.

"Man Luffy, I think you changed his face." The first mate whistled at his captain's strength. Onlookers also saw the result and there was no longer any doubt that Luffy was indeed a Shichibukai.

"Zehahaha, who knew you were a Shichibukai!" Teach laughed as he continued to stuff his face with cheery pie. "Luck is on my side today." The man smirked as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Doc Q, Van Auger, and Jesus Burgess landed next to their captain.

"Looks like Laffitte went for nothing Captain." Burgess laughed heartily. Laffitte had went to the World Government to add Teach's name for the vacant Shichibukai spot.

"It seems *cough* we can just defeat Strawhat Luffy." Doc Q commented weakly.

"It seems that fate is on our side Captain." Auger commented as he adjusted his scope.

"No hard feelings Strawhat but you're going to help me achieve my ambition." Teach remarked as darkness began leaking from his arms.

" **White Out."** Smoke captured both Luffy and Teach and rendered them both immobile.

"What in the hell is this?" Teach said as he was taken by surprised by the smoke.

"Only one person has this ability." Luffy immediately knew who the assailant was.

"I originally came to capture Bellamy the Hyena but I got something even better." Smoker said as he and Tashigi stepped out of the shadows. "I've been looking for you Strawhat."

 **Review:**

 **LightningBlade49 -** Smoker has quite a role in my story, evident by this chapter. I wanted him to defect from the marines as it gives him the freedom to do other things. Luffy may or may not lose his status because of Robin. Regarding your third statement, did you read my mind? I already had plans for her to join the crew for that exact reason. I changed Mock Town with Robin instead of Nami going with them into the city.

 **Monkey D. Conan -** Concerning your LuNa ideas, I originally had Hancock appear sooner for another reason but I could use it to propel Nami and Luffy relationship if I decide to go that route. CP9 will be similar but different at the same time. You'll see what I mean.

 **pizzajon -** Correction. Luffy hasn't lost his status...yet.

 **TwinsMadness -** I added the reactions just as you requested as well as a few others. Thanks for the suggestion.

 **Johnny Spectre -** Oh boy indeed. Smoker and Tashigi have the possibilities to be a lot of things at the moment. Only I know what they will end up as in the end.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N**

This chapter has been edited as 11/15/15.

 **A.N.**

People have been asking what the pairings for this story are. To be honest, I don't particularly know lol. I would like to put it out there that I am a canon LuNa fan but I like pairing Luffy up with any woman when it comes to fanfiction. When I made this story, romance was one of the last things on my mind. I will get to the romance eventually but for now, there will be no pairings. Anyways enjoy the action packed chapter!

 **Chapter 4: Battle Royale**

The atmosphere was tense as the three groups watched each other. Luffy was struggling to get out of his confides while Teach dispelled the smoke with his own Logia abilities. Burgess decided to ruin the stare off by dropping a building on everyone. Smoker tried to pull Luffy towards him but Zoro intervened by holding on to his captain. Smoker reluctantly canceled his powers to escape the falling building. "What do we do Captain?" Zoro asked as he watched his surroundings. The first mate had his katanas ready and his bandana tied to his head.

"We need to find Robin." The Strawhat Captain declared as the archeologist was missing. Both Strawhats frowned at their current situation. They had two groups pining for them while one of their crewmember was missing. A sound of gunshots rang through the air as both Strawhats dodged the bullets. Van Auger was sniping them from the top of a nearby building.

"Captain, Strawhats are 100 feet left of you." Auger gave his captain, their positon.

" **Black Spiral."** An arm of darkness was flung towards Luffy. The black haired man tried to evade the attack but it was coming too fast.

" **White Blow."** An arm of smoke clashed against the darkness, just as the spiral of darkness was about to reach Luffy. The green haired swordsman sensed danger and immediately turned around to parry an attack.

"Roronoa Zoro, I will defeat you." Tashigi proclaimed as she pressed her attack.

"I don't know who you are but Strawhat is my target." Smoker growled as he tried to hold the darkness at bay.

The only reply that was given was several apples thrown at them. "Crap." Luffy said as he recognized the apples. Zoro kicked Tashigi away from the apples as his captain grabbed him. The two Strawhats launched into the air just as the apples exploded, causing everyone to take cover. Once in the air, Luffy noticed a large group of people surrounding someone. Thinking it was Robin, Luffy rocketed towards the figure. Unfortunately it wasn't Robin but rather a Vice Admiral! The crowd wasn't surrounding the man but rather, they were cowering away from him.

"Oh Strawhat Luffy. I was looking for you." The tall, imposing figure towered over Luffy and Zoro. The marine was a little giant with a gray metal mask that had ten holes on it. A large sword was hoisted on his shoulder as the imposing white coat danced in the wind. It was none other than Vice Admiral Bastille.

"A marine!?" The Shichibukai panicked, forgetting the fact that he was now technically on the marines' side. The black haired man was about to flee when Bastille raised his sword to deflect bullets that were aimed for Luffy's back.

"I was sent here to discuss matters with you but it looks like that will have to wait." The giant said as he directed his attention to Van Auger.

"Captain, I suggest-"

The gunman was unable to finish his sentence as the Vice Admiral was behind him. Bastille slammed the large sword downwards toward the sniper, who fled the roof. Once the sword stuck the ceramic roof, the building crumbled under the pressure. "Captain! Vice Admiral Bastille!" Auger shouted hastily as he fled from the marine.

Unfortunately Teach was unable to hear his subordinate as he was preoccupied with Smoker. Blackbeard was trying to get in close to negate Smoker's Devil Fruit but the ex-marine was keeping him at bay with his jitte. "Stay still." The captain of the Blackbeard Pirates shouted as he dove in close.

"How about no." The smoke user replied as he swung his weapons sideways. Teach grabbed the part of the jitte that wasn't covered in seastone.

"I got you now." Blackbeard declared as he touched Smoker, negating the ex-marine's abilities. The smoke man quickly noticed that he lost his intangibility. With his abilities and weapon sealed, Smoker spat his cigar at Blackbeard's face. Teach didn't expecting the dirty tactic and received a burning wound to his forehead. "Ah shit!" The pirate screamed as he desperately tried to get rid of the ashes. Smoker noticed that someone landed near them.

"Man I lost the sniper." Bastille spat out as he saw a familiar face. "Smoker long time no see." He friendly greeted. "Oh wait, you're not a marine anymore." The marine remember as he looked at Smoker and then to Teach. Drawing his own conclusions, the Vice Admiral raised his sword into the air. "I never thought you would have sunk so low to become a pirate!" Bastille shouted as he slammed his massive sword towards his former comrade. Smoker simply turned himself intangible to dodge the attack.

"I'm not a pirate. I became a bounty hunter." The ex-marine coolly said as he lit three cigars. He turned to his previous opponent. Bastille followed his gaze to see the now recovered Blackbeard.

"Dammit that hurt." Teach said as he looked up to see that the bounty hunter and marine Vice Admiral was looking at him. _'Shit where's the rest of my crew?'_ Teach thought as he now had to face two strong opponents.

 ***With Tashigi***

Tashigi was pursuing the man on the horse while avoiding his explosive apples. Although the horse initially looked weak, it sprang to life when it saw the swordswoman running after it. Doc Q frequently threw random apples at her, mixing in the non-explosive ones to add confusion. The female bounty hunter had to dodge every apple, in case one of them was laced with gunpowder. This, in turn, allowed Stronger and Doc Q to gain a sizable cushion on the ex-marine.

"Come back and fight me you coward." She shouted, dodging another barrage of apples. As Tashigi the doctor, she noticed that the moonlight had suddenly disappeared. The swordswoman looked up to see Burgess above her. Not wanting to see what the pirate would do, Tashigi dive rolled to safety.

" **Champion's Kick."** Burgess used gravity and his leg strength to stomp the ground where the female once was. The solid ground cracked from the attack, causing a light tremor to erupt in the area. "I need to work on that." The wrestler commented as he pulled his leg from the ground. Tashigi was pinned on both sides by the pirates. The swordswoman decided to attack Burgess as he was a close ranged fighter.

Tashigi rushed in, hoping to put her opponent on the defensive. The masked pirate dodged the katana as he rushed at the swordswoman. He slammed Tashigi right in the gut with his shoulder. The woman coughed as she was sent soaring into the nearby building. Doc Q, wanting to make sure she didn't get up, grabbed an explosive apple and threw it towards the building. Suddenly hands sprouted in the air to catch the apple and proceeded to stuff the apple in Doc Q's mouth.

The doctor was so surprised by the action that he failed to take the apple out of his mouth. The apple exploded, causing him and Stronger to be inflicted with damage. Both were rendered unconscious from the full force of the explosion. "Who's there?" Burgess shouted as he scanned the area. Nobody responded as the wrestler continued to look for the enemy.

" **Seis Fleur."** Six arms sprouted throughout Burgess's body, holding him in place. **"Clutch."** Robin unleashed her back breaking attack on the champion. The Devil Fruit user walked from out of the shadows as she looked at the unconscious Blackbeard pirates. "It's not nice to gang up on a lady." The archaeologist commented as she went into the broken building where Tashigi laid.

"Nico Robin." The bounty hunter coughed out blood as she saw the person approaching her.

"Hello marine-san or should I say, bounty hunter-san." Robin smiled sweetly. The ex-marine tried her best to stand up but her injuries were proving too much. "Don't worry. I'm not going to attack you. After all, I owe you for not arresting my new crewmates in Alabasta." She assured the swordswoman. Realization hit the blue haired woman like a stack of bricks as she registered the words.

"You're part of the Strawhat Pirates." Tashigi stated. "Why would they invite a former enemy to their crew?" The ex-marine asked as she remembered what Nico Robin did in Alabasta.

"Fufufu they have a very accepting captain. He might even invite you and your captain to join his crew." The raven haired woman replied with a chuckle. "Anyway I need to find my crewmembers. Bye swordswoman-san." The Devil Fruit user waved before she left the broken building. The swordswoman slumped her body against the wall, resting her body.

' _I'm still weak.'_ Tashigi thought sadly, reminded of her weakness. Not wanting to remain on the ground like a weakling, the woman pushed her body upwards. The bounty hunter walked out from the destroyed building to see the two defeated pirates. Ignoring them and her body's pain, she staggered towards where her captain was.

 ***Back with Luffy and Zoro***

"Damn this guy's annoying." Zoro complained as he dodged several bullets. He and Luffy were unable to retreat because Auger was preventing them. When they finally decided to fight, the sniper was making sure they didn't get close with well-timed attacks. His captain was unaffected by the bullets as he simply bounced them back. That changed when the Blackbeard pirate began adding needles to his ammunition.

"Hey Zoro can you keep him occupied?" The raven haired man asked his first mate while bouncing off a wall. The swordsman wondered what the rubberman was going to do but didn't question his captain.

"Alright." The green haired male complied as he sprang towards Auger's positon. As bullets came at the Strawhat pirate, he deflected them with his sword. Zoro jumped on a wall to propel himself to the roof. "Found you, sneaky bastard." The bandana wearer smirked as he spotted sniper's cape. As the first mate was running to the gunman, he noticed that the enemy had thrown something into the air. Auger quickly shot the object, filling the area with smoke. _'Shit smokescreen.'_ Zoro cursed as he was now in a disadvantage. _'I hope Luffy hurries up, whatever it is that he's planning.'_ The swordsman mused as he tried to get out of the smoke.

Meanwhile Luffy was standing stationary, trying to remember something. _'What did that guy do again?'_ The male thought as he tried to remember his fight with Bellamy. _'Oh yeah, he pressed his legs down so they could become springs.'_ The Strawhat captain remembered. Luffy, while not the brightest person in the world, was body smart. The raven haired man was able to remember his opponent's attacks and how his own attacks affected them. He had realized that his blood could serve as a substitute to water when battling Crocodile.

"Okay press my legs down." The rubberman said to himself as he used his hands to press down on his kneecaps. His rubber legs shrank before the Strawhat captain released his hands. As soon as his legs regained its normal shape, the Devil Fruit user could instantly feel the difference. His body was hot as if he was inside a burning furnace. Steam rose from his body as he tried to steady his breathing. _'What is this?'_ Luffy thought as he noticed that his skin had a red hue.

The rubberman then noticed that smoke erupted where his first mate was. Deciding that now was a good time to test out his body, Luffy shot towards where Auger was hiding. It was like the black haired man was shot out of a cannon as his body went beyond its normal limits. Unused to the speed, the Devil Fruit user missed his target and slammed into a chimney instead.

Auger noticed the crash but didn't know the cause of it. He was unable to react when Luffy suddenly appeared in front of him. **"Gomu Gomu no."** The rubberman cocked his fist back. **"Pistol."** The sniper didn't even see the attack connect as he was sent flying through the air. The Blackbeard pirate slammed into several buildings before his body finally halted. The gunman fell unconscious but he had amazingly held onto his rifle.

"Zoro it's safe." Luffy yelled to his friend. His nakama came out of the smoke and made his way to his captain.

"What happened to you?" Zoro asked, noticing the steam from the black haired man's body.

"I don't know but I did what that spring guy did. My body suddenly started steaming and I became super-fast. That's how I defeated the gun guy." Luffy explained to the best of his ability, which only added to the swordsman's confusion.

"Captain-san, Swordsman-san." Robin's voice broke the males from their thoughts.

"Robin, we've been looking for you." The Strawhat man waved. Robin noticed the unnatural steam but decided not to comment. Right now was not the time for questions.

"I've been looking for you as well. I suggest we return to the ship. There seems to be another battle in the middle of the town." The archaeologist suggested as she would rather not be seen by the marines. Even if she was technically on their side, the woman didn't trust the World Government.

"I want to fight." Luffy said excitingly. He wanted to see what his new abilities could do.

"Don't you want to go to the Sky Island?" Robin inquired innocently. The fellow Devil Fruit user instantly forgot about the battle.

"Back to the ship!" He ordered as he ran ahead back to the ship. The raven haired woman began giggling at her captain while Zoro could only think how easy it was for her to trick Luffy. The two followed their captain, who had a sizable lead on them.

 ***Back with Smoker***

"How about I help you catch this pirate Smoker?" Bastille asked as he lifted his huge sword off the ground.

"Sure he isn't my objective anyway." Smoker agreed since he wanted to find Strawhat. "A fair warning though. His Devil Fruit has the ability to negate logia abilities as well as having the power of darkness." The cigar smoker warned the marine.

"Zehahaha. You're correct that I hold the power of darkness but I'm able to negate all Devil Fruit abilities." Blackbeard corrected as darkness oozed from his body.

"Good thing I don't have a Devil Fruit." The Vice Admiral remarked as his sword gleamed black. Teach instantly realizing the **'Armament Haki',** evaded the swipe from the blade.

"I forgot that all Vice Admirals can use Haki." The pirate said.

" **White Blow."** The smoke user threw a fist of smoke towards the other Devil Fruit user. Blackbeard managed to dodge out of the way by crouching.

"You're really annoying me." Teach said in annoyance. **"Dark Matter."** He created a sphere of darkness in his palm. Just as he was about to throw it, Bastille came from behind with his Haki powered blade. Caught off guard by the attack, the pirate captain was sent flying into some nearby crates. "Alright enough is enough." Blackbeard yelled as he shook the pieces of wood off of his body. "I'll show you why the Yami Yami no Mi is the most powerful Devil Fruit." He shouted.

"No thanks." The bounty hunter declined as he tried to stab Teach with his jitte. The darkness suer kicked Smoker away from him while dodging the weapon.

"Too bad, I'm going to show it to you anyway." Black matter quickly spread throughout the area. **"Black Hole."** Teach announced as he slammed his fist down. Smoker and Bastille instantly felt their bodies drawn towards the pirate. The ex-marine turned himself into smoke and flew away from Teach. The Vice Admiral used **'Soru'** to also escape through the air. Both men watched as the town was sucked into Teach's body.

"What in the world?" The masked giant said in shock as the town was gone.

"Zehahaha, I'm not done yet." Teach shouted with a smirk. He pointed his hands at the two men. **"Liberation."** The darkness ser released the ruined town at them. The cigar smoker flew around the objects and turned intangible for the ones he couldn't dodge. The marine simply slashed anything that came near him.

"He left." Smoker announced as Teach was nowhere to be seen.

"Che, he left knowing that he was at a disadvantage. Better luck next time." The Vice Admiral told Smoker. "Anyway I got a mission I need to complete." Bastille said his goodbyes before heading towards where he left his subordinates. The bounty hunter stood there, slightly agitated that another pirate had gotten away from him.

"Captain Smoker." A weak voice called out to him. The white hunter turned to see his injured subordinate. Smoker rushed over to prevent her from collapsing.

"What happened Tashigi?" He asked as he placed her against a broken piece of wood.

"I was double teamed by the man on the horse and the wrestler guy. I was defeated by them when I was saved by Nico Robin." Tashigi reported.

"So it's true that she's with the Strawhats." The Devil Fruit user frowned when he noticed his subordinate's down expression. "You'll get them next time. You just had the misfortunate of being double teamed." He tried his best to consul her.

"Thank you Captain Smoker." She smiled gingerly.

"Alright we're going back to the ship. With luck, we might be able to catch the Strawhats tomorrow." He said as he tossed her gently onto his shoulder.

"You mean our lifeboat?" The swordswoman corrected. Hina had given them a lifeboat after they resigned from the marines.

"Shut up and get some rest. You're going to need it." The man grumbly replied.

 ***With Blackbeard***

Teach had managed to locate each of his subordinates, who were all unconscious. He was able to move them into the woods. "We got our asses whooped." Teach said as he lightly laughing. "I would've defeated Strawhat if it wasn't for the intruders." The ex-Whitebeard pirate grumbled. "I don't mind waiting. I'll just wait for a moment of weakness and then I'll strike." Blackbeard concluded before he began chuckling evilly.

 ***With the Strawhats***

Luffy, Zoro, and Robin had almost made their way back to the Going Merry. Halfway there, the Strawhat captain stopped producing steam and immediately felt extreme fatigue. The first mate had to carry him part of the way before the raven haired man recovered. Just as their ship had come into view, they noticed the crowd of marines.

"What are you guys doing here?" The rubberman asked since he didn't need to punch the marines as they weren't necessarily enemies.

"Strawhat Luffy, we were sent here to relay a message to you." One of the marines stepped forward. "Vice Admiral Bastille had stationed us to remain here while he searched for you." The man reported.

"Luffy you're back!" Chopper and Usopp screamed from the ship. The pirate captain stretched himself on to the ship while the marines made way for Zoro and Robin. Once on board, the returning duo noticed that Luffy had gained a sizable lump on his head.

"Robin-chwan welcome back." Sanji twirled to her before noticing the swordsman. "Why didn't you get lost in the woods?" The cook groaned.

"Oi you want to go?" The green haired male said as he put a hand on the hilt of his katana.

"Stop it." Nami yelled as she bonked both of their heads. The navigator took a deep breath. "So what did you guys do in town!?" She practically shouted. The crew that remained on the ship saw the explosions and how the town disappeared into thin air.

"We got into a fight with a couple of people." Luffy answered honestly. The orange haired woman face palmed at her captain. She wished he thought before he acted.

"Please tell me that you got some information for us." The cat burglar asked but she wasn't expecting much. The two returning males began sweating as they forgot to ask for information. After all they were fighting, you couldn't exactly blame them for forgetting.

"I got some information, Navigator-san." Robin replied, allowing the two men to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Robin." Nami hugged the older woman. "You're the only one I can count on." The orange haired girl said as she released the hug but not before glaring at the two men.

"There's a man called Monblanc Cricket who was exiled for talking about Sky Island." Robin explained as she handed the younger woman a map of Jaya. "He should be able to help us."

"Welcome back Vice Admiral Bastille." The marines shouted as the not quite giant man appeared.

"Oh you're that marine guy who helped us." Luffy said as he recognized the mask. "Thanks for that by the way." The pirate naturally thanked him.

"It's no problem Strawhat Luffy. May I come onboard? I was sent here by the World Government." The marine explained. The archaeologist didn't like that the World Government had sent a Vice Admiral.

"Sure come on up." Luffy complied since the mini giant seemed like a nice guy. Bastille jumped on board with his subordinates remaining down below. The masked man cleared his throat as he faced the Strawhat crew.

"Shichibukai Luffy, the World Government would like to ask a favor of you." The Vice Admiral spoke professionally as he read from the parchment. "They would like to request Nico Robin's services." He explained. The raven haired woman instantly tensed up. "If you choose to accept, Nico Robin would depart with us and will remain in our care until her services are no longer needed. In return you will be compensated with seastone weapons and jewels." The giant finished reciting.

Robin slowly backed from the crew. She knew that she was going to be betrayed, just like every other time. After all, everyone besides the captain and cook was reluctant on her joining. They would gladly take the jewels and weapons in exchange for her. The archaeologist began thinking of escape routes. It would be difficult to escape the Vice Admiral but the woman believed that she was nimble enough.

"No." The pirate captain replied, much to Bastille's and Robin's shock. "Robin's part of my crew and I want her here on our adventures." Luffy declared, to which the rest of the crew nodded. They had already knew what the rubberman was going to reply. The raven haired woman couldn't comprehend what the young captain was thinking. He had given up riches, just so she could journey with them.

' _Maybe they're different from the rest. Maybe I don't have to be alone anymore.'_ Robin thought as a genuine smile crept onto her face.

"Well it looks like your mind is made up. I'll report to HQ regarding your refusal." The marine gave up quickly as he didn't want to reason with the Strawhat captain. "Anyways I'm off." The masked man said as he jumped off the ship. As soon as the Vice Admiral and marines left, the archeologist turned to the crew.

"Thank you everyone." She thanked him with sincerity.

"Shishishi no problem." Luffy laughed.

"No one can replace you Robin-chwan." Sanji declared.

"You're the only one I can trust." Nami said, although she wondered how much jewels they would've gotten.

"You're nice Robin and you also like books." Chopper added.

"You're welcome." Usopp said, taking the credit.

"As long as Luffy trusts you, you have my trust as well." Zoro stated. The swordsman didn't sugarcoat his words and spoke the truth. The other members, sans Luffy and Robin, glared at the first mate.

"Alright guys, next stop is Bontblanc Bicket!" The captain shouted to the crew.

"Luffy it's Montblanc Cricket." The navigator corrected as she began issuing orders.

"Alright next stop, Monblanc Cricket!" The Strawhat boy shouted as the Going Merry sailed off.

 ***Marine Head Quarters, the Five Elder Stars Room***

"Thank you Vice Admiral Bastille." The monk elder said as he hung up the Den Den Mushi. "They refused our offer." He informed the rest.

"Of course they refused." The huge mustache man scoffed. The tallest elder picked up the Den Den Mushi.

"Give me the statuses of all cipher pol agents." The tallest elder requested before hanging up. A marine came shortly with the report. The five elders looked at the pieces of paper.

"The closest to the Strawhats is CP9." The youngest elder said after skimming the papers.

"They're currently on an undercover mission regarding the schematics of Pluton." The elder with the cane reminded.

"Not all of them. We'll sent the other members of CP9 after the Strawhats." The tallest elder suggested, to which the others agreed.

 **Reviews:**

 **Lightningblade49 –** You're the only one who spotted that (the only one who reviewed anyway). I left that tidbit there to make the readers think that Smoker arrived in a marine ship, when he actually didn't.

 **Son of Whitebeard -** Garp and Sengoku had a nice relationship before the Battle of Marineford. I don't want to spoil too much of what I have planned for Blackbeard.

 **Emma Iveli -** I know! I can't believe no one thought of this idea earlier. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

 **Johnny Spectre -** Thanks for answering my author note question. I'm going to stick with the English names. I've also read the Luffy's mom theory being a celestial dragon but it wasn't the same fanfiction. As of right now, I have no plans for his mother's appearance. I read 'Nine Minutes' after your review. It is a very good One Piece AU fanfiction. I also have them going up to Sky Island.

 **pizzajon -** A good while but it'll eventually end later on. (Hint: Battle of Marineford)

 **Monkey D. Conan -** Yeah Luffy will meet some of his later enemies and allies earlier as a way of learning faster. He has to live up to the title of Shichibukai after all. You're one serious LuNa fan lol. (That's not a bad thing). I addressed the pairings issue in my author note.

 **OnePieceDoesExist -** Thank you, I wanted you guys to see how it changes things. I addressed the pairings issue in my author note.

 **ichigo1508 -** Thank you very much!


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 11/20/15.

 **A.N.**

Not much else to say but have you read the new One Piece chapters? I'm not going to spoil anything but man that chapter was awesome! Anyway new chapter is here!

 **Chapter 5: Going Up**

"Are you a monkey?" Luffy asked Shoujou. On the way to Montblanc Cricket, the Strawhat pirates encountered Shoujou and his crew. After a brief introduction, Luffy asked a question that was on everyone's mind.

"I'm human!" The monkey-man replied.

"He looks like Masira." Usopp commented as he noticed the uncanny resemblance.

"Oh you know my brother?" Shoujou asked as he overheard the long nose sniper.

"Oh yeah I sent him flying." The Strawhat captain answered before Nami could stop him.

"You what!?" Shoujou yelled. "I can't believe my brother was killed."

"I said I sent him flying, he's still-," Luffy was ignored.

"I will avenge Masira!" The monkey-man shouted as he grabbed his microphone. Ignoring the shouts of his crew, he unleashed his attack. **"Havoc Sonar."** Sound waves rippled through the air as Shoujou shouted into the mic. The Strawhats were puzzled by the attack as the sounds affected Shoujou's ship and not theirs. Realizing the potential danger, the orange haired woman warned the crew.

"Guys we need to get out of the sound's range before the sound waves reach the ship." The navigator advised. Unfortunately, her warning came a little too late as the sounds waves began lifting pieces of wood off of the Going Merry. "Crap it's already reached us." She cursed. Nami began instructing everyone to move the ship. The Strawhats sailed away from the attack as they continued their journey to Montblanc Cricket.

As they were sailing, the crew separated to do different tasks. Chopper was steering the ship as Nami navigated the waters. Sanji went into the kitchen to prepare lunch for the crew. Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp began repairing the holes with spare plywood. Robin had proven extremely useful with her abilities to offer a pair of helping hands. As they were working, the raven haired woman decided to ask a question about something that intrigued her.

"Captain-san." The archaeologist said to get the young captain's attention. "At Mock Town, you were considerably faster than I was able to see. My question is, how were you able to produce steam from your body?" The Devil Fruit user asked since she had never seen a human produce steam from their body before. The swordsman was curious about that as well. He wasn't able to see what had exactly happened but the rubberman had managed to send Auger flying. The long nose member didn't know what they were talking about so he remained focused on repairing Merry.

"Um I don't really know." Luffy answered honestly. "I just copied the spring guy's attack and steam came from my body. I did notice that I was faster but I don't know why."

"I also notice that you were pretty fast when we were heading back to the ship." The first mate chimed. "But all of sudden you slowed down and I had to carry you."

"Yeah the steam just disappeared and then I felt extremely tired." The captain nodded. The archaeologist had an inkling of an idea but she wasn't entirely sure.

"I suggest you refrain from using that move Captain-san. Only use it in emergencies." She advised. Robin had decided that the Strawhats were worth her trust after they had declined the World Government's request.

"Ok thanks Robin." The raven haired boy grinned to the newest member.

"I see land!" The doctor shouted from his spot at the helm. The crew stopped what they were doing to see a tall building.

"Whoa is that his house?" Usopp yelled as the ship approached a castle.

"Look more closely." The green haired man said as he noticed that something was off.

"What do you mean Zoro?" The reindeer inquired as he didn't see anything wrong. Meanwhile Sanji dropped the anchor per Nami's request.

"It's just cardboard!" The pirate captain shouted as he was already on the land. The crew sans Sanji and Zoro turned their heads to see a house with only one side.

"Why was he exiled?" The navigator asked the other female member.

"Apparently, he said there was a huge amount of treasure hidden here in Jaya." Robin explained. The younger woman's eyes turned into beri.

"Gold!" The cat burglar's eyes caused the archeologist to flinch under the bright glow.

"It's only a rumor I heard in town. I'm unsure if the rumor is true." The older woman clarified, much to Nami's disappointment.

"Chopper." Nami called out to the young doctor. "I need you to dig out the gold here." She said pointing a random spot on the ground, hoping to strike gold. The reindeer did as instructed and began digging aimlessly.

"Hello anyone home?" Luffy asked as he entered the home.

"Oi Luffy don't just go in." Usopp shouted, wary of enemies.

"Nobody's home." The captain told the rest of the crew. As the tanuki-like doctor remained digging, Nami spotted a book.

"A picture book?" She wondered why there was a book outside. The navigator proceed to read the title. " _'King of Liar, Noland'_."

"That sounds like my type of book." The frequent liar commented.

"I know that book. I used to read it all the time when I was a kid." The cook said.

"This book is from North Blue, how do you know it?" The navigator asked.

"Oh, I didn't tell you guys." The blond commented. "I'm originally from North Blue." Sanji replied as he thought back to his childhood home. "Apparently this Noland guy actually existed."

Curious, Nami began reading the book out loud as the crew sat around to listen. "And the pathetic liar died… without ever becoming a true warrior of the seas." She finished sadly, glancing at Usopp. Luffy decided not to hear the end of the story since he didn't like stories that didn't have happy endings.

"Hey don't just make stuff up." The sniper retorted. Sounds of splashing alerted the crew. Their captain had apparently fell into the water. As the curly brow cook got ready to fish out his captain, a man emerged from the sea.

"Why are you in my territory?" The man with a tattoo of the word, 'maroon' asked. Narrowing his eyes at the crew, he reached his own conclusion. "You guys are after the gold." The man stated as he got into a fighting stance.

"Usopp get Luffy, I got this guy." Sanji said just as he dodged a kick that was aimed for his torso. At a disadvantage from the surprise attack, the cook was restricted to dodging. Montblanc delivered an arm thrust but it was met by the cook's foot. Unfazed by the block, the fellow smoker fired a gun at the blonde male.

"Sanji!" Nami and Chopper screamed as the curly brow crewmember barely managed to dodge the bullet. He didn't have time to reply as the diver continued to fire his weapon.

"That idiot. Shouldn't have took him on." The swordsman berated as he prepared to rush the tattooed man. Before he could do anything, Montblanc collapsed on the ground. Usopp had managed to finish out Luffy, who was breathing in the precious air.

"He's suffering from dysbarism." Chopper informed the crew. The Strawhats had brought the diver into the home. Although Sanji was reluctant, he eventually agreed since they were trespassing on Montblanc's land.

"Dysbarism?" Zoro wondered what the word meant.

"So he's sick." Luffy concluded. Chopper thoroughly explained the illness but it went over the heads of most of the crew.

"Boss are you alright?" Masira and Shoujou shouted as they peeked into the door. Silence filled the air as the Strawhats recognized the two monkey-man. "What did you do to the boss!?"

"We're taking care of him. Stop bothering us." The Strawhat captain replied.

"Luffy they aren't going to listen to us." The sniper retorted but he didn't understand how simple minded Masira and his brother was.

"You guys are so nice." The monkey duo said with tears free flowing. The raven haired boy decided to talk to the two brothers outside so Montblanc could rest in peace.

"How can they get along so fast?" The long nose male asked as he watched his captain talked to the brothers.

"They're all simple minded." Zoro replied before dozing off into a nap. The Strawhat captain was telling Shoujou how to send Masira flying.

"Luffy he's awake." Chopper told his captain as Masira flew into the air.

"You're up." Luffy said. "I need to ask you something."

"Thanks for your help. Sorry about the trouble, I thought you were here for the gold." The diver apologized. Ignoring Nami's reaction, he looked at Luffy. "What do want to ask me?"

"We want to go to Sky Island. Please tell us how to get there." The Strawhat captain pleaded. Instead of an answer, he only received laughter from Noland's descendant.

"You guys believe in that!" Montblanc bellowed.

"So it doesn't exist!" Luffy whined.

"I don't actually know for sure." The diver puffed out smoke from his cigarette. "But I knew a man who said it exists. He was known as a great liar." He stated. The rubberman instantly turned his head to his friend who was a frequent liar.

"It's not me!" Usopp retorted. Montblanc began telling the crew of his ancestor's story and how Noland became known as the great liar. "So you're trying to prove that Noland is innocent by finding the golden city?" The sniper said excitingly. He was beginning to respect the diver for what he was doing.

"Don't talk shit." Noland's descendant fired his gun, narrowly missing Usopp's head. "I don't care about proving his innocence. This a duel between me and him. Before I die, I will find out the truth and tell everyone about it." He confessed. The crew listened silently at the man's conviction. Usopp began tearing up as the diver reminded him of the Giants of Little Garden.

"I want to go to Sky Island." Luffy repeated, ending the silence. Montblanc smirked at the young captain's insistence. The smoker reached out and grabbed an old torn book from his shelf.

"This was Noland's logbook. It doesn't actually say that he went to Sky Island but this part talks about the sea of the sky." Montblanc said as he handed the book to Nami. The navigator began reading the entries out loud. It described the waver along with other objects found in the sky. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were getting more excited as the navigator kept reading.

"It exists!" The captain said with sparkles in his eyes. The diver smirked as he watched the crew converse with great interest about Sky Island.

"Masira, Shoujou get over here!" The boss yelled to the two monkeys outside. The two brothers approached the window, wondering what their boss wanted. "They want to go to Sky Island." He said as he jabbed his thumb towards the Strawhats.

"Do they have a death wish?" Masira commented.

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked, hearing the conversation.

"I believe I know a way to get to Sky Island." The boss of the monkeys' replied. "But not everything I say can be proven true. It's up to you to believe me." He said quickly before anyone could interrupt him.

"I believe you." Luffy replied.

"Listen first!" The sniper and navigator retorted. The diver began describing the things that were needed to head to Sky Island He explained that the Sky Island was most likely in the Millennium Cumulonimbus. Knock Up Stream was the only way to get up to the island but the possibility of death was extremely high.

Luffy and Chopper wondered what Sky Island was like, both giddy with excitement. Nami and Usopp paled at the thought of dying and didn't want to experience falling from the sky. Zoro had fallen asleep during the explanation. Sanji wondered what kinds of foods Sky Island possessed. Meanwhile Robin wondered if she would be able to find a poneglyph up there.

"Luffy I think we should reconsider. There's bound to be other exciting islands we could visit." The orange haired girl tried to reason.

"Yeah Nami's right. I don't think the Going Merry can survive the trip." Usopp pointed out.

"No." Luffy declined. "I want to go to Sky Island." He declared. His crewmates knew there was nothing they could do to deter their captain.

"Gyahaha." Montblanc laughed. "It's settled, we'll prep your ship so it can withstand the Knock Up Stream." He said.

"When does Knock Up Stream occur?" The blonde cook questioned.

"If my estimates are right, then tomorrow at noon." Noland's descendent told the crew. "In the meantime, you guys need to go into the forest and find a South Bird."

"What's that?" The reindeer asked.

"It's a bird that always points south. You need it to sail directly south of here. You'll be able to find it by following a strange chirping sound." The diver explained.

"Why do we need that?" Luffy asked confused. "We could just sail south." That seemed simple enough to the captain. Before Montblanc could say anything, Nami cut in.

"He's right Luffy. We don't have a log post to direct us there. Considering that this is the Grandline, it would be almost impossible to just sail south." The navigator explained.

"Looks like I know who the navigator is." The boss of the monkey alliance smirked. "Anyway get going." He barked. The Strawhats dashed into the forest, splitting into several groups. Luffy paired with Nami, Robin with Sanji, and Zoro, Chopper, and Usopp in the last group.

 ***Zoro, Chopper, and Usopp Group***

"Chopper stay close to Zoro. We need to make sure he doesn't get lost." The long nose member told the youngest. Chopper, who was in walking point, nodded as he stood next to Zoro. The swordsman grew a tick mark from being insulted.

"Oi stop talking like I'm not here." The first mate said as he cut down a giant centipede. His crewmates applauded his strength in taking out the overgrown bug. The green haired male was prepared to leave them when a strange call came from above.

"Choh." That was the sound they heard. The trio looked up to see an odd bird staring at them.

"There's the South Bird." Usopp pointed above them. The sniper tried to prepare his ammo but a swarm of bees came flying at them. As the group ran away from the poisonous insects, Chopper was able to decipher what the bird was saying.

"Death to all who disturbs the forest." The reindeer translated as more insects came at the trio. The insects were no match for the might of Zoro as the swordsman easily deter any attacks. Chopper and Usopp provided back up if any managed to get near them. The South Bird sat on top of the branch, smirking at the trio.

"That's it!" Usopp said in anger. Grabbing his slingshot, Usopp fired several pellets at the South Bird. Chopper, in the meanwhile, took out a Rumble Ball from his pouch. The bird not at all threatened by the attack, used its wing to deflect the pellets. The pellets exploded as soon as the wing came in contact with it. The bird was too startled by the attack to notice Chopper appear behind it in his **Jumping Point.** Transforming into **Heavy Point** , Chopper trapped the bird within his arms.

"Choh!?" The bird said as he tried to escape. The doctor was finding it hard to hold onto the bird, as it was pecking Chopper with its beak. Luckily, Usopp came to the rescue and tied the bird up with some rope. As soon as the bird was captured, the insects retreated back into the forest. Zoro sheathed his blade as he turned to his crew.

"Great job guys. We got the little bastard." The first mate commented as glared at the bird. The swordsman grabbed the rope as he began hauling the bird. "Let's go back and wait for the others."

"Zoro!" Usopp shouted. The swordsman stopped and turned towards the sniper. "You're going the wrong way. The house is this way." Usopp pointed to the opposite direction. The man with no sense of direction blinked several times before scowling.

 ***Sanji and Robin***

"Don't worry Robin-chwan. Your handsome prince is here to protect you." Sanji said as he elegantly twirled. Robin gave him a polite smile but didn't necessarily comment.

"Should we head towards the yelling?" The woman asked as she scanned her surroundings.

"It sounds like Usopp." The cook commented as he lit a cigarette. "He'll be fine. Marimo and Chopper is with him." He dismissed the notion as they proceeded deeper into the forest. In the corner of her eye, the raven haired woman spotted something but wasn't quite able to make it out.

"Cook-san." She said to grab his attention. "I think someone's watching us." The archeologist said as she crossed her arms. The blonde male was instantly on the alert as he moved closer to Robin.

"Don't worry Robin-chan, I'll protect you." Sanji said, his flirtatious tone not present. The two Strawhats surveyed the trees as they prepared for an attack. A rustle from a nearby bush got their attention. The thing that came out of the bush was a boar. Breathing a sigh of relief, both of them relaxed slightly.

"I suggest we head back Cook-san." The Devil Fruit user suggested. The curly brow man nodded his head in agreement. The two headed back to Montblanc's home. Every so often they would glance back but found nothing. As they left the area, a man appeared from behind a tree.

"Nico Robin. She almost spotted me." Teach said as he held up the dead boar. "Capturing the _'Devil Child'_ would certainly gain me notoriety. Perhaps I could nab both her and Monkey D. Luffy." He thought before disappearing.

 ***Luffy and Nami***

The two were strolling along as Luffy was on his quest to find the best Hercules Beetle. "Look Nami!" He said shoving the bug into the navigator's face.

"Eek." She shrieked, distancing herself from him. "Stop that Luffy. I hate bugs!" Nami yelled. He simply ignored her and continued walking. "Don't leave me behind idiot." The navigator screamed as she ran after her captain. The two stopped when they heard the sound of Usopp's voice. Nami turned that way, trying to gauge the distance.

"Nami! Don't move!" The raven haired boy yelled loudly, startling the girl. The orange haired girl did as told and stood there frozen. "Oh my god. I finally found him." The rubberman said excitingly. The navigator felt Luffy pick something off her shirt. "It's a golden Hercules Beetle!" The pirate captain screamed as he held the beetle into the air. Nami paled as she realized the bug was on her.

"Forget about the bug. Let's go back." The navigator said as she dragged him back to the rest. Luffy didn't care that he was being dragged as he couldn't wait to show Chopper and Usopp. Unknowingly to them, someone was spying on them.

"I got to tell Captain Smoker." Tashigi remarked as she went back to their lifeboat. The bounty hunter was in the woods collecting food when she stumbled upon the two Strawhats. Unfortunately her foot got caught on a root causing her to stumble. She was able to catch herself but the fruit she collected went in all sorts of directions. "He's going to yell at me." The blue haired swordswoman sighed as she picked up the nearby fruit and left.

As the duo returned, they spotted Zoro with the captured bird and a transformed Merry. "Merry!" Luffy exclaimed, temporarily releasing his hold on the Hercules Beetle. The bug used the opening to fly away and back into the safety of the forest. "You look so awesome."

"I know right!?" Usopp agreed, equally excited.

"Looks like you found the bird. With everything set, let's eat." Montblanc said as he headed inside. The crew and two monkeys followed in afterwards. Any meal involving the Strawhats were bound to be festive, this meal no different. Laughter erupted inside the tiny home as they began partying. Not used to the atmosphere, Robin sat away from the group and silently read Noland's captain log. She wondered what she would be able to find in his words. "In the skull's right eye, gold is seen." The owner of the house said as he startled the archeologist.

"Gold?" Nami instantly reacted to the word.

"I don't know what it means but those were Noland's last words. Maybe one day I'll find out, maybe not." The diver took a chug of rum. "But that's why I go underwater." He declared. The party went on until everyone fell asleep. The monkey duo dreamed of one day helping Montblanc accomplish his goal while the Strawhats dreamt of the wonders of Sky Island.

In the morning, all the crews were ready to set sail. "Monkey Alliance!" Montblanc shouted. "Don't mess this up! No matter what, give your all for these guys!" He ordered. The crews acknowledged the command. "This is where we part kid. There's no proof that Sky Island doesn't exist. People will call us crazy but that doesn't matter. This is 'romantic'." He bellowed. Luffy laughed as well as they sailed off. The crew sailed their farewells to the man.

As they were sailing, Masira tried to explain the plan to the Strawhats. Unfortunately, they weren't listening as they were off doing their own thing. "Are you guys listening to me?" He yelled.

"Just relax. We'll get there in time." Luffy told them. They did as told and the three crews enjoyed the nice weather. Several hours later, Masira's crew spotted the Millennium Cumulonimbus. The crews desperately rushed to their stations as they sailed to the heart of the storm.

"This is your stop. We lead you to the whirlpool. Good luck." Shoujou said as he and his brother wished them the best of luck. The two monkeys cut the rope that was attaching them to the Merry. The Strawhats stared at the humongous whirlpool that their ship was sailing in.

"Stop bring us back!" Usopp and Nami screamed but they were too far from the Monkey Alliance. Chopper and Luffy couldn't wait until they started flying. Sanji was frantic, trying to protect his wonderful ladies. Zoro and Robin were calm as they stared at the swirling water. That didn't change even when they saw a Sea King get swallowed by the whirlpool. The ship continued its journey and eventually went into the hole.

"We're going to fall!" They screamed with different emotions. Suddenly the giant whirlpool disappeared as if it wasn't there to begin with.

"What happened?" Luffy asked the question everyone voiced.

"It's about to start." Nami said in realization.

"You're not going anywhere Strawhat!" A voice shouted. The crews turned to see a high speeding lifeboat heading to the Going Merry. The front was lifted off the water as something below was propelling the boat. Smoker was using his powers to propel the boat towards the Merry. "Let's go Tashigi." Smoker said as he grabbed his subordinate.

"Wait Cap-" Her words fell on deaf ears as Smoker jumped aboard the Going Merry with Tashigi.

"You're not escaping Strawhat Luffy!" Smoker declared, not noticing that the sky had turned dark.

"It's coming you guys! Stay focused." Shoujou warned. At his words, the Going Merry started to elevate.

"Everyone grab something or go inside." Sanji shouted. The Strawhats frantically grabbed onto the Merry while the two ex-marines wondered what was going on.

"Grab on to something!" The Strawhat captain yelled at them. Still unsure what was going on, the two didn't move. Knock Up Stream started and it flung the ship upwards. Smoker and Tashigi began falling forward. Realizing the situation, Smoker used his powers to grab the main mast and Tashigi. Everyone began shouting as the ship ascended into the sky.

"What's going on!?" The cigar smoking man asked as he landed near Zoro.

"Shishishi We're flying!" Luffy replied excitingly. "Forward Merry!" He shouted to the ship.

"Oh something is falling." Robin said nonchalantly. The Sea King that was sucked in earlier was falling from the sky.

"That's what is going to happen to us, if we don't do something." Sanji remarked.

"What do we do!?" The sniper asked as he began panicking.

"Unfold the sails!" The navigator told them. They looked at her for an explanation. "Even though it's going up, this is still a sea current. We just need to adjust ourselves. After all who's this ship's navigator?" She asked with a smirk.

"NAMI!" They shouted as they went to do their tasks.

"You two help out too!" Nami ordered the two bounty hunters. Used to the marine system, Tashigi immediately began helping out. Smoker, although reluctant, began helping out as well. After all, he didn't planned to die just yet.

"We're falling!" Chopper shouted but Nami ignored him. As soon as the main sail unfolded, the Going Merry began flying.

"We did it!" They cheered. The navigator breathed a sigh of relief that her plan worked. The ship disappeared into the Millennium Cumulonimbus, out of sight. Down below the Monkey Alliance cheered for their friends. Montblanc Cricket wished them the best of luck. In the forest, the bandaged Blackbeard Pirates watched in amazement.

"Good thing I didn't chase after him." Teach remarked.

"Why didn't we follow Captain? We might have been able to board their ship like Smoker did." Auger wondered as he watched the scene through his scope.

"Too much trouble. It's going to end the same way as Mock Town. That Smoker would just interfere with my plans." Teach replied. "We'll move on for now. There's plenty of big fish out in the seas. We just need to catch one." Blackbeard and his crew departed from Jaya and made their way to the next island.

 ***On the coast of Jaya***

"Shit they got away." Jabra cursed as he looked into his binoculars. The member of CP9 was not having a good day. First, he was given a mission to kill some annoying Revolutionaries. That was fine by him since he needed some action. Unfortuantely he was chosen to lead Kumadori and Fukuro on the mission. He hated working with those two the most since neither ever stopped talking. Then before they could get into any action, they were called back.

"We let them escape. What a disgrace!" Kumadori shouted as he pulled out a sword. "I will commit seppuku for my actions." The kabuki lowered the blade while activating **Tekkai**. The blade failed to pierce his stomach. "My mother divine protection once again protects me!"

"Shut up! You're scaring the crew!" Jabra kicked the kabuki. The marine ship was given to them by the higher ups to find the Strawhats. Jabra was temporarily given the rank of Rear Admiral. The rest of the members of CP9 were temporarily given new positions as Commodores. The mission was to capture Nico Robin and deliver her to the Enies Lobby. Unfortunately she had escaped from their grasps.

"Looks like another day without Gatherine, chapapa." Fukuro teased. Jabra scowled as Fukuro somehow managed to find out his girlfriend's identity.

"Shut up. Somebody tell me what island they're heading to." Jabra shouted. The new member of CP9, Nero, came forward.

"That Sky Island is called Skypiea, if I remember correctly." Nero informed. Jabra nodded to the new member. He didn't like Nero since the guy seemed like an ass kisser.

"Alright, we'll go through one of the other entrances." The wolf user announced to the crew.

"Doesn't at least one person die going through those entrances?" Fukuro blurted out. The crew gasped as they didn't know that fact. Jabra had to stop himself from killing his teammate.

"That doesn't matter. Get ready to set sail! We need to catch up to the Strawhats!" He ordered as the marines went to their stations. Jabra let out a sigh as he wished he was chosen to be on the team that were tasked to find Pluton.

 **Reviews:**

 **Lightningblade49 -** Of course, Smoker didn't want to create another enemy. It's easier to team up with your former comrade than to fight them.

 **Mr. Ursine** \- Thanks for pointing that out. I fixed the error in the summary. Thanks for giving my story a chance and I hope you continue to read it.

 **dragonwarrior316 -** Glad you liked the fight scenes! The war of the best is going to be epic...I hope lol. I planned for it to happen but I don't have everything planned out yet.

 **TheBlackSeaReaper -** Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it so far.

 **Johnny Spectre -** I always wondered how Luffy invented Gear Second so I modeled it after Bellamy. Luffy will always stick by his crew's side. These CP9 are the weaker ones but they are currently stronger than most of the Strawhats. At this point in the story, Sanji will be hard-pressed to beat Jabra. Lol people really want Sabo in the story. Sadly he won't appear until later.

 **Kairomaru -** I also can't believe that there aren't any Luffy as Shichibukai stories. I think I'm the first. Lol bragging rights. You should put it into your story if you choose to, of course. After all, I don't own this idea. Anybody is free to use it.

 **pizzajon -** Slow down lol. It'll be a while until I get there.

 **Monkey D. Conan -** I didn't like how Luffy just magically knew how to fight in Gear Second in canon. So I wanted him to access it quicker. Soru is a possibility but I'm not sure yet. I might have foreshadowed...lol. Sorry but Sabo won't appear in this arc. Other arcs, not sure yet.

 **TheSuperMario -** I love writing it because they are so many potential changes.

 **MemberXIII -** I believe I already answered you by PM.

 **iitrnr -** Thanks. Glad you like it so far.


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N.**

This chapter has been edited as of 11/23/15.

 **A.N.**

Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update but school started again. School really cuts into my free time that I use to write. I should be able to release at least one chapter a month so I hope you can be patient with me. Thank you for understanding.

So I've been informed by **Johnny Spectre** that I'm actually the third story to have Luffy become a Shichibukai. I suggest that you read **Once Again** by **TheVictor** and **The Ultimate Protection: Shichibukai Luffy** by **Okinawa Angel**. I haven't read them yet but you should give it a try if you enjoy this concept.

Concerning Gear Second, I forgot that Luffy based it on **'Soru'** and that he was training it after his defeat to Aokiji. Thanks to guest reviewer, _anonluffy_ , for helping me out. To the other reviewers who said that Luffy accidently learned it in the movie, thanks for the help. I personally don't believe that the movies are canon.

 **Chapter 6: Getting Acquainted**

The Going Merry soared higher into the clouds before bursting through. The ship landed roughly on the sea clouds. The occupants of the ship were coughing and wheezing as they sucked in the precious air. Luffy was the first to recover and his excitement kicked in. "Hey guys look outside the ship!" He proclaimed as everyone took a glance. White clouds of all sizes filled their vision.

"We're sailing on top of the clouds." Nami said in shock.

"Of course we can sail on clouds." The captain retorted.

"No, no that's impossible." The crew denied.

"Guys, Usopp isn't getting up." Chopper cried as he shook Usopp's pale body. "We need a doctor! Oh wait, I'm the doctor." The doctor said as he took out his stethoscope. The reindeer proceeded to flash his light into his friend's eye.

"Ahh the light is coming for me." Usopp said weakly.

"No Usopp don't look into the light." The raven haired boy pleaded as he shook his best friend's body.

"You guys are really relaxed." Smoker commented as he took out his cigars.

"Wow I've never sailed on sky clouds before." Tashigi remarked. The Strawhats turned to the voices to see the two ex-marines. Realization struck each of them as they remembered they had bounty hunters on their ship.

"Shit they slipped my mind." Zoro cursed as he grabbed his katanas. Sanji, Robin and Luffy stepped forward while Chopper, Nami, and Usopp stood behind, providing back-up. Remembering where she was, Tashigi also pulled her katana out of her sheath.

"Strawhats Pirates I'm taking you in." The female ex-marine declared. The crew looked at her confusingly.

"Swordswoman-san, what's the reason you're taking us in?" The archeologist inquired as she smiled at the younger woman. The female bounty hunter was unable to find an appropriate response to the question.

"You guys are pirates and you need to be arrested for your crimes." Smoker chimed as his cigars calmly. He and his subordinate were at a disadvantage because it was them against seven pirates. The raven haired woman smirked at his response. The other Strawhats watched with interest as the archaeologist conversed with the two stragglers.

"We're indeed pirates but we're pirates under the ranks of Monkey D. Luffy, who is a Shichibukai. That means all previous crimes that we've committed have been nulled. Even if you did managed to arrest us, you wouldn't be able to claim our bounties since we have none." She explained. The smoke user didn't seemed fazed by her logic.

"He's a Shichibukai for now." The ex-marine commented as he pointed a cigar at Luffy. "Although Crocodile lost his position mainly for his crimes in Alabasta, he also lost it because he was defeated in combat. The World Government wants the Shichibukai to stay undefeated in order to project them as they're invincible. All I need to do is defeat Strawhat and bring him in. Once that happens he'll be stripped of his position and tossed into prison." The bounty hunter said confidently. Being an ex-marine allowed him to know how the World Government worked.

"Still you won't be able to do anything. There's no way we'll let you capture Luffy." The first mate commented. "If you somehow damage the ship, then all of us are going to go tumbling down. Even if you managed to catch us and keep the ship intact, you'll need to find a way back down while keeping us captive." Zoro said as he eyed the two. He knew the fighting now would be pointless but he had to be cautious.

"Oi moss-head isn't that smart, who are you?" Sanji eyed the swordsman suspiciously. The so called moss head grew a tick mark but didn't comment.

"Tashigi sheath your blade. He's right." Smoker commanded. Tashigi looked at her superior in shock before she reluctantly followed the command. The Strawhats followed suit with their own weapons. "Let's have a ceasefire until we get back down." He proposed. The bounty hunter knew that the Strawhats had little reason to accept, considering they outnumbered him and Tashigi.

"Nami!" Luffy called the navigator. "What's a ceasefire and can I eat it?" He asked seriously. Everyone sans Robin comically fell to the floor. The latter and two bounty hunters simply sweat dropped. A quick punch to Luffy's noggin, eased Nami's growing headache.

"A ceasefire basically means we don't attack each other until our problems are solved. In this case, we'll help each other until we make it back down to our sea." The orange haired woman explained.

"Oh okay." The young captain nodded. "Sure." He instantly replied before turning to the female bounty hunter. "Your name is Tashigi right?" Luffy asked the swordswoman. The crew turned to their captain, wondering why he asked that question.

"…Yes?" She replied but it came out as more of a question. Tashigi also wondered why he was asking who she was.

"You're the person who saved us in Alabasta." The pirate captain said as he wrapped her in a hug, surprising everyone. "Robin told us that you stopped the marines from arresting us. Shishishi thanks for that." Luffy thanked her as he released his hold. "You look like a tomato!" The raven haired male bellowed as he saw Tashigi's red face.

"Luffy get off the lady, you idiot captain." Sanji roared as he kicked his captain away. In a swift movement, the cook was down on one knee. "My name is Sanji and I thank you for blessing us with your presence." He said as he kissed the back of her hand. Before the blue haired female could say anything, Zoro intervened.

"Your presence make me want to puke, you shitty cook." The first mate responded. This ensued a fight between the two men.

"Are you sure we can trust them Luffy?" Chopper asked from his 'hiding spot' near the main mast. His hiding wasn't very good since his body was mostly sticking out.

"I'm not sure about Smoke-guy but he should be okay. Tashigi seems nice though. After all she protected us." Luffy assured.

"If you say so Luffy." The ship doctor said as he came out of his 'hiding spot.'

"How are we navigator-san?" Robin inquired. Nami looked at the log post and informed the crew that they needed to head higher.

"Do you think there's fish down there?" Usopp asked, leaning over the railing.

"Yes, there are fish in the waters but they're unlike our own. They have adapted to living in sea clouds." Tashigi answered. The sniper took a few steps away from the swordswoman. He didn't trust the two bounty hunters even if they were in a ceasefire.

"Usopp let's catch some fish." Luffy shouted after hearing the information. He handed his friend the fishing rod and hopped onto his special seat.

While the crew busied themselves with miscellaneous activities, Smoker silently smoked his cigar against the wall. Sanji went into the kitchen to prepare some snacks for the ladies. Zoro, Robin, and Nami were all cautiously watching the ex-marine captain. "If you want to say something, go ahead and say it." The smoke user spoke. Tashigi turned to her captain, wondering who he was talking to.

"Why are you really chasing us?" Nami asked. "As far as I know, none of us has ever killed a person and we aren't the type to raid towns. I don't actually believe that you're chasing us across the Grandline for some damages we caused in Loguetown. Plus Buggy and his crew did most of the damage, not us." The navigator added. As one of the longest members of the crew, she knew each of the crew members fairly well.

Luffy wasn't the type to kill someone no matter how much he hated them. Despite Zoro's early days as a pirate hunter, it was said that all of his targets were captured alive. The worst she did was steal from people. Usopp didn't have the guts to kill a soul and the same could be said about Chopper. She also doubted that Sanji killed anyone before. _'The only one I'm not sure of is Robin.'_ Nami mused.

Smoker was silent as he knew what she said was correct. Most of the damages to the town was caused by Buggy's crew and the only thing really damaged was the platform where the Pirate King was beheaded. No, the reason why Smoker followed after Luffy was because the boy smiled right when he was about to be killed. There was only one person who smiled before he was executed and that was Gol D. Roger. He had a gut feeling that Luffy was going to cause a storm in the world so Smoker wanted to throw him in prison before he could cause any real trouble.

When the Revolutionary Dragon stopped him from pursing the boy, he didn't know why Dragon was helping him. Of course he knew why now since the knowledge became known to the marines. When the World Government initially awarded him and Tashigi promotions for the capture of Crocodile, he was furious. One thing led to another and he resigned from the marines. He was getting tired of their brand of justice.

Tashigi waited patiently for her superior to give an answer. "Like I said, you're pirates and you need to be arrested for your crimes. Once a pirate, always a pirate." He half-heartily answered. The answer did little to assure his subordinate.

"I got something!" Luffy shouted as he held up a flat fish with a jagged mouth. The conversation ended as the crew went to see what their captain caught but a seed of doubt was planted within Tashigi.

' _Are these pirates really that bad?'_ The thought crept in her mind as she remembered how the Strawhats risked their lives to save the kingdom of Alabasta. She quickly shook her head free of the thought as she made her way to the crowd.

"The fish must have adapted to the sea clouds just as Tashigi said. It's very flat and have little weight to them. The teeth formation is unlike anything I've ever seen before." Chopper analyzed as he went into doctor mode.

"Sanji cook it!" Luffy ordered. Nami sighed at her captain's simplicity.

"Luffy you don't even kno-"

"IT'S SO GOOD!" The captain shouted with a mouthful of sky fish.

"At least wait!" She yelled. The navigator grabbed a piece and ate it as well. "Oh it's good, I never had something like this before." Nami commented.

"I sautéed it like a regular fish but it tastes different. I wonder what other food there is here." Sanji commented. "Wait a minute." The cook said in realization. "We're going to see beautiful angels!" He shouted joyously.

"Angels?" The reindeer repeated.

"Angels are beautiful maidens that have wings on their backs. They are second only to the beautiful mermaids of Fishman Island." The curly brow answered dreamily.

"Hey guys, something is coming towards us!" Usopp yelled as a figure was dashing towards Merry. The crew turned to see a person skating on top of the clouds. "And he's got a huge gun on his back." The sniper remarked. The monster trio got ready for battle as the figure leapt into the air. Unused to the lack of air, the Strawhats' movement were sluggish. The assailant easily defeated the trio, much to most of the crew's shock. The attacker jumped into the air but he was pulled back down by a strand of smoke. The masked man tried to free himself by aiming his bazooka at Smoker.

Before he could fire, a lance attacked him from the side. The blast from the lance stopped the masked man's attack but it had also freed him from his confides. The attacker was knocked into the sea clouds, disappearing from view. The crew turned to see an armor-cladded old man land on their ship along with a bird thing. "Who are you?" Nami asked the elderly man before turning to the monster trio. "How could you guys lose three on one?"

"I don't know but my body isn't responding as it should be." Luffy replied as he took deep breaths.

"It's the lack of oxygen in the air." Robin informed. The woman's statement got the knight's attention.

"You guys must be citizens of the blue sea. Average citizens of the blue sea wouldn't be able to handle the lack of oxygen." The knight reasoned. As he said that, the monster trio were up and about.

"It looks like I'm getting used to the lack of air." Zoro said as he took a few practice swings. The captain and cook were also moving about, adapting to the lack of oxygen. Gan Fall was doubtful that they would be able to adapt so quickly.

"You still haven't answered the question. Who are you?" The ex-marine captain asked. He was looking at Gan Fall cautiously since he allowed the attacker to escape.

"Excuse my manners. You may call me the 'Knight of the Sky'. I assume you have a lot of questions but first I would like to talk business with you." The knight said as he casually sat down on the railing. "I am a freelance mercenary. I provide whistles for fifty million extols. Simply blow into the whistle and I'll come save you." He proposed.

The Strawhat crew tilted their head in confusion, wondering what the old man was talking about. Tashigi decided to explain since she had an idea on what was going on. "Extols is the currency used on most sky islands. The exchange rate is 10,000 extols per 1 beri." The swordswoman explained.

"Are you telling me there are other sky islands!?" Nami yelled to which the bluenette nodded.

"When I was in the Marine Academy, we were told that there were countless sky islands and the currency used on the islands. I didn't learned much else because Sky Islands are usually out of the marines' jurisdiction." The ex-marine explained.

"Tashigi you've said enough." Smoker commented, quickly shutting up his subordinate.

"Huh?" was her intelligent response. "I mean of course Captain Smoker." The swordswoman replied, realizing what he meant. She had indulged too much information to the pirates even if they were currently allies.

"Tashigi-chan is so smart." Sanji swooned as he stood near the woman. The swordswoman slowly backed away from the cook.

"Could it be that you guys came from the monstrous stream!?" The knight of the sky asked in shock.

"Yes." Robin replied. "Are there other ways to enter sky islands?" The archaeologist inquired.

"As there are countless sky islands, there are countless ways to enter. Most prefer to venture through the other routes since Knock-Up Stream is the most dangerous of them all. I must ask, did you lose any of your crew members?" The old man asked.

"No." The Strawhat captain replied despite being shaken by Nami.

"As I figured since that route is essentially an all or nothing. In the other routes, you're guaranteed to lose at least one member of your crew. You're most fortunate." The knight said as he smiled.

"Um knight-san do you know how to get to the Sky Island?" The navigator asked as she pointed to the log post. "The log post is still pointing up."

"Of course I do. We're currently in White Sea which is in between the Blue Sea and White-White Sea. The nearest island from here is Skypiea, located in White-White Sea. To enter White-White Sea you need to pass through Heaven's Gate." Gan Fall informed. The name sounded familiar to the female pirates.

"Thanks old man." Luffy said.

"Well to commemorate your bravery, I'll give you one whistle for free. The next whistle will cost fifty million extols. Now I must take my leave." The old knight said as he handed the whistle to Luffy. "My name is Gan Fall, the knight of the sky, and this is my trusty partner Pierre." He said as he hopped onto his partner. "I forgot to mention that Pierre ate the Uma Uma no Mi so he can become a winged horse."

"Pegasus!" Nami and Tashigi exclaimed as the bird transformed into an odd looking horse.

"You are correct!" Gan Fall said as he and Pierre posed dramatically.

' _It's a little off…'_ The crew collectively thought.

"Farewell and good luck brave pirates." The knight shouted as he flew away.

"He gave us some useful information but we still don't know how to get to Heaven's Gate." Robin remarked.

"True…" Usopp sighed.

"Let's call knight oji-san." Luffy suggested as he picked up the whistle.

"NO!" Chopper, Nami, and Usopp stopped him. "That's for emergencies!" They shouted as the reindeer was able to take control of the whistle.

"Do you know anything Tashigi?" The sniper asked the bluenette since she knew more than anyone else. Tashigi shook her head no.

"Like I said earlier, I only know the general information on Sky Islands. Sorry but I don't know a way to our destination." She informed as she pushed her glasses up.

"That's okay. Thanks to you, we know about the currency and the exchange rate." Nami assured.

"Hmmmm…" Luffy stared at the swordswoman while stroking his chin.

"Is something the matter Luffy-san?" Tashigi asked, slightly unnerved at his staring. The rest of crew looked to the captain who seemed to be thinking of all things.

"I've decided." The young captain nodded to himself. "Join my crew." He demanded.

"EH!?" Most of the Strawhat members shouted in shock. Robin was chuckling to herself while Sanji was celebration another female addition to the crew. Smoker even dropped his cigar in shock as he never predicated that to happen.

"Uh." Tashigi was so unsure what to say. "Thank you for the invitation but I will have to refuse. Even though we're in a ceasefire, I'm still tasked in arresting you." She politely refused.

"I see…Well I want you to join. You're a super nice person." Luffy complimented.

"Thank you but I'm still not joining your pirate crew." The bluenette refused again.

"Yes you are because I want you to." Luffy refused her refusal. He ended the conversation by leaving to sit on his special seat. The Strawhats sans Robin smirked since it was similar to what they did when their captain asked them to join. In the end, they ended up joining despite their initial refusal.

"Once we get to the sky island, I'm going to cook a feast in honor of our two newest ladies." Sanji proclaimed as he took a drag of his cigarette. Tashigi noticed that he included her.

"I'm not joining." She protested when she felt hands on her shoulders. The swordswoman turned to see Usopp and Nami with a hand on her shoulders.

"You should give up. Once Luffy likes someone, he'll never give up until they joined his crew. It was that way for almost all of us." The navigator advised.

"Welcome to the crew. If you need anything, you can ask Captain Usopp!" The sniper proclaimed as he left to check Merry. Tashigi slowly made her way to Smoker, who still hadn't pick up his cigar. She was simply flabbergasted by the turn of events. First she was invited to join a pirate crew, the same one she wanted to put into prison. When she refused, the young captain refused her refusal!

"Captain Smoker." The subordinate called. As if nothing happened, Smoker picked up his cigar.

"Looks like you've been invited." He commented as he leaned against the wall.

"Hai…As you know, I refused but the crew seems to have decided that I'm one of them." The woman sighed. Smoker was unsure what to say in this situation. If they were still marines, the answer would be obvious. Now that they were simply bounty hunters, the situation was different. Even though Smoker remained to himself, Tashigi engaged in conversations with the pirates.

' _The crew will be even friendlier, especially now that Strawhat invited her.'_ The male bounty hunter thought. The chances were extremely likely that she'll bond with the crew over the course of the ceasefire. "Just remember that they're pirates and that the ceasefire ends as soon we're back down." He reminded. Tashigi nodded but she was having trouble remembering that the Strawhats were pirates.

Zoro watched as Tashigi wracked her brain on the events. "Luffy just had to invite her." The swordsman mumbled as he took in her features. _'She looks so much like Kuina.'_ The first mate thought as he was reminded of his childhood friend every time he saw the female bounty hunter. Zoro sighed before leaving to find somewhere quiet to nap. Unknown to him, Robin was watching him.

' _Seems like swordsman-san has history with swordswoman-san.'_ She mused as she turned to the doctor's shouting.

"Guys what's over there?" Chopper pointed to a cloud that seemed to flow vertically.

"It look like a waterfall." The archaeologist chimed.

"Alright crew. Let's check it out!" Luffy ordered as the Merry turned towards that direction.

"Look at that huge cloud." The sniper said as looked as Merry came near a towering cloud.

"If it was a normal cloud then we could just simply sail through it." The navigator said as her captain began winding up. Luffy launched his fist but it simply bounced off when it came in contact with the cloud.

"WOW!" He, Usopp, and Chopper exclaimed. Wasting no time, Luffy jumped and began bouncing around.

"SO COOL!" The youngest shouted in amazement. Soon he and Usopp joined in the fun.

"That's unbelievable." The archaeologist commented.

"I wonder how such a thing is possible." The navigator wondered. "Anyway we need to find a way around it."

"Hey there seems to be a gate over here." The long nose shouted.

"Really!? Great, lead us there." Nami replied. After navigating through the numerous clouds, the Going Merry arrived in front of Heaven's Gate. Everyone came to the front to see the enormous gate welcoming them.

"That's a bad omen. It's like we're going to die." Usopp commented as he began turning pale.

"…Maybe we're already dead?" Zoro smirked.

"We're already dead!?" Chopper shouted in shock.

"That would explain all the strange stuff." Sanji chimed in.

"I believe we're alive as I'm able to use my powers." Robin reasoned as an additional hand sprouted in the air.

"It's the Grandline, strange things always happen." Smoker said.

"Why did they name it 'Heaven's Gate'?" Tashigi wondered.

"That's a funny name for a gate." Luffy laughed.

"Anyway it looks like we can go through." Nami remarked as an old lady stepped out with a camera.

"Are you here to sightsee or to fight?" Amazon asked as she took several pictures. "It doesn't matter. If you want to go up, it is one billion extol per person." She informed.

"How much is that in beri?" Usopp asked.

"That's nine hundred thousand beri! There's no way I'm paying that!" Nami shouted.

"You're not going to pay it?" The old woman asked.

"Hell no!" The navigator instantly refused.

"Well you can still go up." Amazon replied. This caught the more cautious members off guard. Smoker, Zoro, Sanji, and Robin glanced at the gatekeeper suspiciously but chose not to say anything. Nami was as suspicious well but chose to ignore it since she didn't need to pay.

"How do we go up?" The captain of the ship asked. As he said that, Merry was lifted above the clouds.

"That's a speed shrimp. It'll take you above." Amazon explained as the shrimp speed off. None of the members noticed the smirked on the old woman's face.

 **Reviews:**

 **pizzajon -** Saboady is a great arc but you'll have to wait for the details. Smoker is stuck for now.

 **iitrnr -** I hinted at that strongly. Now just trying to decide if I should add both.

 **TheBlackSeaReaper -** Thanks for the review!

 **Johnny Spectre -** Thanks so much for helping me out by giving me information.

 **Lightningblade49 -** Totally right. They're in the opposite of an advantage.

 **-** Thanks for the help but I personally don't accept the movie as canon.

 **Revan3363 -** I'll try my best. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

 **Monkey D. Conan -** I explained most of your questions in this chapter. Both he and Tashigi will have doubts throughout this arc.

 **ExplodingKnuckler -** Thanks for reading and for the reviews!

 **Son of Whitebeard -** I actually like Bastille. Too bad he keeps getting his butt whooped. Bellamy and Donquixote won't be fighting CP9 and won't be relevant until later.

 **Talonsen –** Um, I believe you have the wrong story.

 **Grz -** CP9 is getting up through one of the alternative routes. Haki will be discussed but I'm not sure if I'll have them learn it just yet.

 **Fox Boss -** Thanks for the review. I'll try to think of a pairing but we'll see.


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N.**

Sorry for the long wait! There's a lot of reasons for the late release of this chapter. It was mainly due to my lack of free time, finals, and edited the previous chapters.

In other news, I've decided on a solution for the Luffy pairing issue. The solution is an open poll! You have two votes to vote for your choice for the pairing. I've included nearly every female from the One Piece franchise so you can vote for lesser known females too. Some, of course, is just for laughs but you can still vote for them if you wish. If the harem route is chosen, the top three girls would be a part of the harem. No males would be included since I don't like yaoi. Sorry yaoi fans!

 **Chapter 7: Angel Island and Its Angels**

The shrimp carried the Going Merry up the cloud stream as the crew anxiously awaited their arrival. "This is remarkable." Robin commented on the structure of the cloud stream. The cloud had various twists and turns that lead upwards.

"There's no way that this cloud was formed naturally." Tashigi observed.

"It's the Grandline. Almost anything is possible here." Smoker commented, looking upwards.

"Hey guys. I think I see a sign up there." Usopp informed the crew.

"This is still suspicious." Sanji said, trying to light his cigarette. "Why did the gate keeper let us go through even though we didn't pay?" The blonde mused.

"We didn't have to pay so it's fine." Nami remarked.

"Hai Nami-swan." The cook replied, letting go of his suspicions. Still, the navigator agreed with Sanji that it was odd that they were allowed through. The ship had no way of proceeding up the stream without the assistance of the speeding shrimp. The gate keeper simply could've denied them entry if they didn't pay and the Strawhats would've been stuck. Sure they could've sailed upwards but the navigation would be difficult with all the twists and turns. The girl broke out of stupor as Luffy began yelling that there was an exit.

"Godland Skypiea." Zoro read out the words on the sign. The speed shrimp quicken its pace and launched the ship through the hole. Merry soared through the opening as the Strawhats arrived in Skypiea.

"It's a sky island!" The crew shouted for different reasons. The ship landed softly on the White-White Sea as the clouds absorbed the impact. Chopper grabbed the helm and steered Merry towards the island. As soon as the ship hit land, Luffy leapt off the ship. Chopper and Usopp quickly followed their captain.

"This beach is so soft." The Strawhat captain commented as he laid on the cloud beach.

"Should I put down the anchor?" The first man shouted to his captain.

"It doesn't matter! We're on Sky Island!" Luffy replied as he continued to play.

"It doesn't matter he says." The swordsman sighed. His captain quickly forgets about everything else as soon as he finds something interesting.

"He's excited." Sanji said as he rolled up his pants. "You can't blame him. I mean we're on Sky Island. That means there are angels!" The blonde shouted. "Sanji-kun is here beautiful angels!" The cook yelled before jumping overboard.

"I think you should drop the anchor." A female voice startled the swordsman. "Even though we don't know if there's a bottom to this sea, it's better to be safe than sorry." Tashigi advised.

"Ah…thanks." The ex-pirate hunter said dropping the anchor. It was clear to the blue haired woman that her presence bothered the swordsman.

"Choi Choi." The south bird called as it flapped away.

"I can't believe I forgot about the bird." Nami said as she came out with her beach attire. "Did you guys drop the anchor?" The navigator asked, when she realized that half the crew wasn't there.

"Yeah I did it." The swordsman replied.

"Thanks Zoro." Nami thanked before she jumped overboard and landed on the clouds. "Wow now that I've experienced it myself. There's no doubt that sky islands exist." She chuckled before heading off.

"Guys! Get down here! It's so fun." Chopper shouted as he bounced on top of a fluffy cloud.

"Aren't you going down swordsman-san?" Robin said, announcing her presence to the two sword users.

"I will in a bit. What do you three plan to do?" Zoro asked the remaining stragglers as he rolled his pant legs up.

"I'll head down as well. I'm curious on what the island is like." Tashigi replied. The woman looked to her superior to see what his plans were.

"Go ahead Tashigi. I will head down later." Smoker answered when he saw his subordinate's gaze.

"I'm going to grab a few books before heading down." Robin informed. Zoro didn't even know the ship had books. The swordsman jumped over the ship's ledge and landed softly on the clouds below. The green haired male bent down to examined the clouds. The piece of cloud he picked up was something he never felt before. Engrossed in the soft mass of cloud, he failed to notice Tashigi jumping down as well. The swordswoman's landed her feet on top of his moss head, causing him to fall face first.

"…Sorry I didn't see you there." Tashigi apologized as she readjusted her glasses before stepping off the fellow swordsman. Like a fish leaping out of the water, Zoro rose from the clouds. A giant tick mark had formed on his forehead.

"OI! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING WOMAN!" He yelled at her. Tashigi didn't like the fact that she was getting yelled at by him so she yelled back.

"I ALREADY APOLOGOZIED! I DIDN'T MEAN TO BUT YOU WERE IN THE WAY!" The blue haired woman shouted back, her face inches from his.

"WELL LAND SOMEWHERE ELSE!" Zoro retorted. The two sword users continued to glare at each other before eventually separating. Both headed towards the beach in different ways initially but Zoro had somehow found himself next to Tashigi.

"STOP FOLLOWING ME. GO OVER THERE." The swordswoman barked as the duo once again erupted into another argument. From the ship, Robin was enjoying herself as she watched their interactions.

"Looks like you found another useful tool." Smoker's voice rang through the air. The archeologist turned her body to face him while leaning on the railing. Placing a hand on her cheek, she flashed an innocent smile.

"What do you mean bounty hunter-san?" Robin asked, seemingly oblivious to his meaning.

"Nico Robin, the Devil Child. No matter what crew or organization you joined, the organization would always fall apart. And every time you would escape just before the destruction. Many point out that you were the reason for those organizations fall out. Eventually you found a safe haven in Baroque Works and Crocodile. Now you're under the rank of Monkey D Luffy who was just rewarded the title of Shichibukai." The man said briskly as he puffed his cigars.

"I'm quite astounded that you were able to relay my past history. I still don't understand where you're going with this however." The raven haired woman replied as she folded her arms together.

"While I don't care about this crew, if your past history is any indication, you'll betray them before moving on to greener pastures. I'm just telling you in advance that I'm going to make sure you don't escape." He commented as he exhaled some smoke. Robin's smile still didn't falter.

"Thank you for the advance notice but I believe you weren't completely honest just now. As you said, I usually leave before things go downhill. That is what frightens you. You believe that your subordinate will join this pirate crew and you want to prevent any harm that comes to her." The archaeologist stated.

"I never said that Tashigi is going to join." Smoker replied. Robin didn't comment, instead decided to cut the conversation short.

"If my leaving worries you, it is unnecessary as I plan to stay for a while." The raven haired woman walked down the stairs and towards the women's cabin.

"What if Strawhat loses his position as a Shichibukai?" The white haired man asked.

"I don't know..." She replied honestly. "But for now, the Strawhats have earned my trust and I intend to stick by them." With that Robin entered the cabin, ending the conversation.

After a few minutes, the entire crew plus two were exploring the beach of the sky island. "ADVENTURE!" Luffy roared as he was determined to explore every nick and corner of the island.

Smoker was rubbing his hand on the surface of the sand cloud. Picking up the sand, it fell from his grasp. "This is quite similar to my devil fruit except I can't change the texture of my smoke like this."

"Itai!" Luffy yelled at he tried to bite into a piece of fruit. "It's so hard." He commented, knocking on the fruit's exterior. "Hey Zoro can you cut this?" The captain didn't wait for a response as he tossed the hard fruit at the napping first mate. Unfortunately, Usopp had got in the way. The fruit smacked the unsuspecting sniper across the head. This caused an argument between Luffy and Usopp to spark, with Luffy's signature laughter resounding as he ran away.

"Hmm." Sanji said stroking his goatee. "What strange flowers. I wonder if they're different like the fish from earlier."

"Oh, a cloud formed into a chair." Robin commented as she pressed onto the chair's surface. "The texture is quite harder than the clouds we sailed on."

Nami tested out one of the chairs. "This chair is pretty cool. I wonder what they do to make clouds form like this."

"Oh I know that book." Tashigi commented as she looked at Robin's stack of book. The archeologist conversed happily with the swordswoman, glad that someone shared her love for books.

"Tashigi-chan! Nami-swan! Robin-chwan!" As Sanji said each of the ladies' name he twirled elegantly in the air. Landing with a single knee on the group, he presented them with flowers. "Please accept these beautiful flowers. As beautiful as they are, they pale considerably to your beauty." He said without a shred of embarrassment. The girls reluctantly took the flowers from him.

"I wonder if I could use those as herbs." Chopper wondered, jumping into the conversation. "Can I have them to study?" He asked innocently. The cook swerved his head so fast that the reindeer thought he might've gotten whiplash.

"Chopper these are for the _ladies._ " The blonde stressed out the last words. It seemed that young reindeer was frightened as his eyes slightly teared up.

"Here you go doctor-san. You can use mine for your medical purposes." The raven haired woman gave the doctor her flower. Tashigi and Nami also gave theirs to him much to Sanji's dismay.

"You must be really smart to be a doctor reindeer-san." The swordswoman praised.

"Shut up you bastard! I'm not happy that you called me smart!" Despite his words, Chopper was clearly delighted that he was praised. Tashigi, however, was at a loss of what to say.

"Don't worry about Chopper. He's always like that when people praise him. Even though he says rude things, he's extremely happy. You'll get used to it eventually." The navigator explained.

The young doctor finally settled down. "Luffy's right. You guys are nice! I'm glad you two are joining the crew." With that comment, he left to put the flowers back on the ship.

At his words, Tashigi realized how closely she was interacting with the Strawhat crew. She conversed with Robin about books, received a flower from Sanji, praised Chopper, and received advice from Nami in a span of a few minutes. The crew had already integrating her into their group without her even noticing. It was frustrating how easy it was to get along with the pirates. As Tashigi was lost in her thoughts, a melody rang through the air.

"Suu. Suu." A sound came from a foxlike creature that came near the napping Zoro.

"Hmm." The swordsman slowly awoke as he felt something rub against his leg.

"There's a person standing on that cloud." Usopp pointed out to everyone.

"Wait that's an…" Sanji said as his pupils morphed into hearts. "ANGEL!" He swooned as the angel turned to them.

"Heso." She said to them. The angel was wearing a pink shirt with a black flowery design on the right side. A matching pink skirt was clasped by a white belt, making the outfit look like a dress. Her blond hair was braided into two pigtails with a pair of antennas on the top of her hair. She looked relatively normal if it wasn't for the pair of white wings on her back.

"HAI! HESO!" The blonde replied, not even knowing what the word meant.

"Are you from the Blue Sea?" The angel asked as she leapt of the large cloud.

"…Yeah. We flew up here." Luffy replied as the blonde female called for Su. The white fox yipped as it ran back to its owner. "Do you live here?

"Yes I live up there in the resident area. The place we're at is called Angel Beach." The winged female replied as she noticed the Luffy's was carrying around a gaunasu. "Do you want to drink it?" She asked, pointing to the hard fruit. The pirate captain nodded and handed over the gaunasu. The angel took out a small knife from her satchel and cut a round piece out of the fruit. Retrieving a straw, she placed it in the gaunasu before handing it to Luffy.

Taking a sip, Luffy's mouth was filled with the delicious fruit juice. "IT TASTES SO GOOD!" The raven boy exclaimed. Usopp and Chopper went up to the resident to open their fruits as well.

"I'm Conis." The angel introduced herself. "And this is Su." She said, holding up the fox. "If you have a problem, I'm willing to help you." Conis offered. Sanji dramatically took the cigarette from his mouth.

"Yes I have a big problem. I believe you've stolen my hear-

"Shut it." Nami said while pulling onto his ear. The navigator made her way to Conis, who had just finished cutting the gaunasu for Chopper. "To be honest, we have lots of questions."

"Please ask away. I'll be happy to help." Conis said jubilantly. As the two women discussed the facts about Skypiea, Smoker spotted a person on the horizon. It look like he wasn't the only one to notice as Zoro brought the matter to the crew.

"It looks like something is heading over here." The swordsman pointed out. The crew looked in that direction, to see a speck of a silhouette.

"Is that a person?" Tashigi wondered as she readjusted her glasses.

"Ah, it's my father." Conis explained as a man wearing a yellow version of Conis' outfit rode on a strange vehicle came closer.

"Conis, my daughter, heso!" The mostly bald man yelled to his daughter as he pulled up. Unfortunately, he parked on a slippery cloud and launched forward. Reacting quickly, Luffy managed to pluck both man and machine from the air using his devil fruit abilities. Conis stared in disbelief as Luffy's arms retracted to normal length. "Thank you young man." Conis' father thanked the captain.

"No problem old man." Luffy smiled.

"Are these perhaps your friends, Conis?" Her father asked which knocked her from her stupor.

"Y-Yes, I've just met them father. They're from the Blue Sea and I was answering their questions." Conis replied, a little nervously.

"I see." He said, stroking his beard. "Where are my manners? I am Pagaya, a resident of Skypiea." Pagaya introduced himself. The name once again rang a bell with the female pirates.

"Skypiea. Isn't that the name of the map that Luffy found?" Nami mused as she recalled the name on the parchment. Robin nodded in agreement.

"It seems that the galleon had also came to the island once upon a time." The raven haired woman confirmed.

"I'm sure you're filled with questions." Pagaya interjected. "It's lucky that I was able to catch this sky lobster, the most delicious food in White-White Sea. Please come to my home and allow me to treat you." The man with wings said as he held up a bubbly looking lobster. At the sound of food, Luffy jumped for joy while Sanji wanted to see Skypiean cuisine.

"Before we go, I was wondering how this worked considering it has no sails or paddles." Nami asked as she glanced at the waver. This piqued Tashigi's and Usopp's interest so they came closer to inspect the vehicle.

"I want to try it!" Luffy said as he butted into the conversation. Pagaya allowed him but not before warning Luffy that the waver was difficult to control. Once on, the raven haired boy stepped on the accelerator and the waver flew forward. The crew looked on in amazement until it was evident that their captain couldn't control it. The waver hit a lumpy cloud, causing the machine and rider to flip in the air.

Conis and Pagaya gasped as Luffy landed into the seaclouds. The crew look dumbly at their captain as they wondered if he would sink. "Oi." Smoker called from his spot on the beach chair. "He's sinking." The man commented as he watched the males jump into the water. Usopp dived in to retrieve a drowning Chopper, who jumped in while forgetting his own weakness to seawater. Zoro was able to grab his captain before Luffy sank too far.

"Are you okay?" Conis rushed over, worried for the raven haired boy's safety.

"I apologize. I should've stopped you from trying. To maximize the speed, the waver was made really light. In contrast this made it susceptible to even the smallest of waves. One must understand the sea very well to be able to ride the waver." Pagaya explained.

"That means I can't ride it." Chopper complained after recovering from his weakness.

"I'm afraid not tanuki-san. It takes at least 10 years to learn." The male Skypiean replied.

"I'm a reindeer!" The doctor refuted.

"Hey." A voice called out to them. They turned to see Nami skillfully controlling the waver as she raced through the clouds.

"I can't believe it. I've been practicing since I was child and only recently I've succeeded." Conis said in disbelief. Chopper looked on his amazement.

"NAMI-SWAN IS THE BEST!" The blond cook praised.

"Oh Nami we're going to mister's house so come back." Luffy yelled. "Hurry and come back…stupid." He said, not pleased that she was able to ride it.

"You guys can go ahead. Can I play around Pagaya-san?" The navigator asked.

"Yes but please be careful." He replied.

"Nami, can I come with you?" The reindeer asked. "I want to ride the waver too." He reasoned. Nami looked at the machine and noticed there was just enough room for Chopper.

"Okay but stay in that form. Otherwise we won't both fit." The orange haired girl agreed as she veered the waver back to shore.

"Aw I want to ride it too." Luffy complained.

"Come on Luffy. We're leaving." Sanji said as Chopper boarded the waver. The duo sped off across the clouds as the reindeer held onto the back of the boat.

"Sink." The captain proclaimed as he stuck his tongue out.

"Are you a kid?" The cook slapped him upside the head. As the group disembarked, Tashigi noticed that her captain had remained put on the beach chair.

"Captain Smoker, aren't you coming?" She called out to him. The white hunter waved her off, preferring to relax on the beach. The swordswoman contemplated whether to follow the group or stay with her captain. Curious on how things worked on Skypiea, she opted to go with the group instead.

"There seems to be some sort of construction site over there." Tashigi heard the long nose sniper say as she caught up to them.

"Ah you must be talking about the cloud cutting factory." Pagaya deduced.

"Cloud cutting?" Sanji asked before striking a conversation with Robin.

"It is a factory that cuts cloud into blocks for a variety of purposes." The winged male explained. "For example, to get here from the White Sea, didn't you go on the milky road?"

"Milky?" Zoro wondered.

"Are you talking about that long strip of curving clouds that the speed shrimp carried us on?" Tashigi chimed in.

"Exactly. That is an artificially made cloud. There are actually two types of clouds here in Skypiea. The clouds you sail on are called sea clouds while the ones you can walk on are called island clouds." Pagaya clarified.

"But aren't they simply normal clouds?" Robin inquired before clarifying. "How is it possible for the clouds to be different from one another?"

"The reason for this is because of the molecular makeup of the cloud. I've heard in the Blue Seas, there is a mineral called seastones." The Skypiean male explained.

"So the reason for the different types are because of sea stones." Tashigi figured.

"Yes. In sea stones, there is special substance we call pyrobloin. It is because of this substance that there are different types." Pagaya finished explaining as they arrived at his house. He and Sanji headed into the kitchen to prepare the meal. Meanwhile Conis entertained the guests.

"…Usopp is stupid!" Luffy said into the shell.

"Why me!?" The sniper retorted to his friend.

"Now simply press on the apex." Conis instructed. After pressing the top of the shell, it replayed the conversation.

"The shell called Usopp stupid!?" The raven haired boy said in shock.

"No. That's your voice." The long nose member refuted.

"Wow it can record sounds." Zoro said in amazement.

"So that's a dial?" Tashigi commented as it intrigued her. Conis turned her attention to the swordswoman.

"Yes. This is a tone dial. It's able to record sound and replay it. The main use for the tone dial is to record music."

"So that means there are different types of dials." Robin inferred based on the Skypiean's words.

"Correct Robin-san. Another dial is called the breath dial. It is what powers the waver. For every minute you hold the dial at the wind, it will release that much amount of wind when released. The size of the dial is proportional to the size of the dial. A waver uses a medium sized breath dial to function." Conis explained as she fed Su.

"Oh we recently found one but it must be over 200 years old. Our waver is probably broken." Usopp chimed in.

"That's not necessarily true as a dial can function as long as the shell isn't broken." The winged female replied.

"What other dials are there?" Tashigi inquired. She had learned none of this when she was in the marine academy.

"There are many types, ranging from flame dials to visual recording dials." Conis answered. As the group talked, Sanji observed Pagaya cook. With the help of the blond, they were able to finish and presented it to the rest. As the group ate, Sanji couldn't help but notice that one of his ladies was missing.

"Nami-san and Chopper isn't back yet?" He asked, peering from the window. The two members of the resident paled and began worrying.

"Father, w-will it b-be alright?" Conis asked fearfully.

"I have a bad feeling as well Conis." Pagaya replied with sweat forming from his brow.

"What's wrong?" Luffy inquired with a mouth full of food.

"In Skypiea there is one place where no one is allowed to enter. The place is accessible by waver. It is the place where God resides, Upper Yard." Conis informed.

 ***Nami and Chopper***

The two Strawhat pirates looked in amazement at the size of the trees. Chopper wondered if the trees were as tall as the Drum Rockies back on his home island. "Those trees are ginormous, I wondered how old they are?" Nami wondered as she balanced the waver on the waves. Suddenly the reindeer's hearing was able to pick up a sound.

"Nami I heard screaming. I think it's a person." The doctor informed as he gripped onto her leg.

"That doesn't sound good. We should head back Chopper." The navigator decided. The two heard a peculiar sound from behind them. The pirates wasn't able to react as a masked man leapt into the air with a bazooka perched onto his shoulder. The man fired the weapon into the forest as the incendiary round sailed harmlessly above the pirates. Dazed by the turn of events, Nami was unsure of what to do.

From the smoke, a bloody man came out and screamed to board on the waver. As the man continued to speak, a blinding light crashed down on the man. The masked man and the Strawhat pirates covered their eyes from the intense light. After the light disappeared, the masked man skated away in the opposite direction. Hearing voices from within the forest, Nami quickly maneuvered the waver to the side of the land.

As the people talked, the two pirates covered their mouths to remain quiet. "The next group of illegal trespassers has entered the country." They heard a man speak. "According to Amazon, it seems to be nine citizens of the Blue Sea." He informed the rest. The navigator began connecting the dots and figured that the nine was them. As soon as they left, Nami decided to head back.

"We need to inform the others. Chopper hang on tight." She told her crewmate. As the reindeer tightly gripped onto her left leg, Nami slammed on the accelerator. The waver raced through the clouds with breakneck speed. _'I hope they don't anything stupid until I get there.'_ She hoped as she weaved through the clouds.

 ***Angel Beach***

The group had returned to Angel Beach so Pagaya could take a look at the waver they found and to look for Nami and Chopper. Luffy was intent on going to Upper Yard despite the constant warnings by Conis. Usopp tried to dissuade the captain but was ultimately unsuccessful. The majority of the crew decided to wait on the Going Merry except for Luffy and Smoker.

"Hey mister what's that?" The raven haired boy asked Pagaya, who was examining the waver. On the stairs leading down to Angel Beach, a group of men wearing white were descending. They were wearing white berets with the initial WB tagged on the beret. As soon as they touched down on the cloud sand, the men crawled to Luffy.

"Heso." The group greeted Pagaya and Conis. The two Skypieans returned the greeting. The man who seemed to be captain of the squad stepped forward to address the trespassers. "You're the citizens of blue sea. You've been established as the nine illegal trespassers!" Captain McKinley of the White Berets shouted. Pagaya and Conis flinched away from Luffy as they couldn't believe that the nice young man in front them was a criminal.

"There must be some mistake Captain McKinley!" Pagaya insisted.

"We have visual evidence provided by Amazon the Gatekeeper." McKinley remarked. "Fear not. As this is only a Class-11 crime, you simply need to serve the punishment to become regular tourists."

"What is this so called punishment?" Smoker asked as he sat up on his seat. He had a feeling that old gatekeeper was letting them in too easily.

"You just need to pay ten times the amount of the entry fee. Since it's for nine people, it would be 90 billion extol." McKinley informed.

"How much is that in beri?" Usopp wondered out loud.

"Based on the conversion rate, it would be 9 million beri." Robin quickly converted the price. The entire crew was appalled by the staggering amount.

"I could buy a whole boatload full of ingredients with that type of money." Sanji yelled in shock. "Let's just ignore them and go find Nami-san."

"Oi don't forget about Chopper." Zoro reminded. "Oi Luffy and freeloader! Let's go." The first mate shouted to them. Smoker gritted his teeth from the nickname. In the meantime, McKinley was pilling more crimes on to the Strawhats after spotting the broken waver.

"I'm going to kick your ass!" Luffy huffed.

"WAIT! DON"T DO ANYTHING LUFFY!" Nami shouted as she and Chopper came into view.

"Nami-swan! I'm so glad you're safe." Sanji shouted with glee.

"Oi what about me!?" The reindeer shouted back.

"Good job protecting Nami-san, Chopper." The blonde cook saluted as the waver raced by the ship.

"Shut up you bastard! I'm not happy that you praised me!" The doctor replied.

"Oi Nami we have to pay for 9 million beri for our crimes to be nulled." Usopp informed. The number enraged the navigator, resulting in her slamming the waver into Captain McKinley. Everyone was stunned silent as the White Beret leader was sent flying.

"Fufufu. I believe navigator-san has just made it worse." Robin laughed at the action.

"…Oops." Nami said as she tried to play it off cutely by sticking out her tongue. "Thanks for the waver Pagaya-san." The orange haired woman gave back the machine before grabbing Luffy and Chopper. "Let's run guys!"

"HOLD IT!" McKinley shouted. "There's no escape. As punishment for a Class-5 crime, I sentence you to cloud drifting!"

Conis and Pagaya couldn't believe their ears. "B-but cloud drifting. That's too harsh of a punishment." The female Skypiean remarked.

"What's that? It sounds fun." Luffy stopped as he asked Conis.

"It's not fun at all. Cloud drifting is where your ship is placed on an island cloud and is sent drifting in the sky until you die. It's basically a death penalty." Conis explained panicky. She didn't believe these people deserve such a harsh punishment.

"That would explain why the galleon fell from the sky." Robin concluded.

"Some of you target the man who is away from the others." McKinley ordered. He pointed to Smoker, who was calmly smoking his cigar. The ex-marine wondered what these people were going to do. "The rest of you with me to take the others. Leave the ones on the ship for now."

"Run you guys. You can't beat them!" Conis said hastily. Zoro contemplated if his captain needed help but decided against it.

"Please don't say that miss. It sounds like you're trying to help the criminals." McKinley warned. The members of the White Berets split into two groups readied their arrow and fired.

" **Milky Arrow."** They shouted. Luffy pushed his nakama away as he prepared to meet the arrows. Both Luffy and Smoker effortlessly dodged the arrows that formed a line of cloud. The White Beret members jumped onto the clouds and activate their skates. They sprang forward to intercept the illegal trespassers in mid-air. As they swung their blades, Luffy disappeared while the attack went straight through Smoker.

"What the!?" The White Berets said in shock. Conis and Pagaya looked equally shocked.

"You might fight on clouds but you can't touch smoke." Smoker commented as he knocked out the berets that faced him with a swift punch. Meanwhile Luffy prepared his attack.

" **Gomu Gomu no"** Luffy began to twist his body in mid-air. **"Firework."** A continuous amount of fist and feet struck the confused White Berets, knocking them out. The only ones that remained standing was Luffy and Smoker.

"How much money do we have Nami?" Zoro asked with a smirk.

"50 thousand beri." The navigator replied as she and Chopper hopped onto the ship. "We should ask the World Government for money when we get back."

"We can do that?" Sanji inquired.

"No." Nami shook her head. "Although we have access to most Marine bases and exclusive routes, money is not something they will provide."

"You could ask for seastones and weapons. Marine grade weapons and seastones usually fetch a fair price on markets since they're rare to find." Tashigi suggested. The crew turned their eyes towards her. Catching her in surprise, Nami grabbed her hands.

"Tashigi that's genius!" The navigator remarked, her eyes turned to beri symbols. "I forgot we're allowed to conduct legal business now."

"We should keep some of the seastones and weapons. They could be useful." Usopp remarked.

"Tashigi-chan is as smart as she is beautiful." Sanji complimented. The crew began discussing what to do when they got back down. On the shore Pagaya and Conis were still stunned at how easily the White Berets were defeated.

"Citizens of the blue sea usually have problems fighting here…" Conis commented.

"You should've done as I said." McKinley breathe out. "Now you'll be labeled Class-2 criminals and the priests of Upper Yard will personally judge you!"

"Eh ok." Luffy replied nonchalantly as he picked his nose.

"Things have become complicated. I'm afraid we can't help you." Pagaya replied as he and Conis stood a bit away from them.

"Is there a safe way to leave this place?" Nami asked as she joined the conversation.

"In your situation there is no safe way out. There is a way to the Blue Sea via cloud end, far east of here." Conis replied. "A-Although I don't suggest you running, sky ocean is very big."

"We don't want to cause you anymore trouble. We'll be able to find the place eventually. Thank you Pagaya-san, Conis." Nami waved as she went to the ship.

"Oi mister can I take the food from earlier?" Luffy asked exuberantly.

"Oh of course." Pagaya replied.

"All right! Sanji, lunch boxes." The pirate captain said. The cook heard the order and headed over to them.

"Ah perhaps I should ask if I can borrow some books." Tashigi mused.

"Can you ask for me too swordswoman-san?" Robin politely asked.

"If you're going, can you please ask Pagaya-san for some tools to fix the ship?" Usopp asked as he was repairing the Going Merry.

"I'll go with you Tashigi." Chopper volunteered. "I'll help you carry the stuff." The reindeer hopped off the ship. The blue haired woman let out a sign and slumped her shoulders. She hadn't agreed to anything and yet the crew already decided for her. The swordswoman leapt over the railing but in her clumsiness, her foot got caught on the railing. She fell face first on the cloud. Luckily Chopper was there to help her when she fell.

"Are you okay Tashigi?" The reindeer asked worryingly as he examined her. Other than embarrassment, she was fine. The duo made the way towards Luffy and Sanji. Smoker decided to head back to the ship to prepare when they go back to their sea.

"You guys prepare for adventure. We'll be right back." Luffy yelled towards them.

"What does he mean adventure? I hope he doesn't want to go there. It's really scary there." Nami remarked. Meanwhile Captain McKinley was hiding in the cover of the bushes.

"Forget fleeing. You'll soon be escorted to Upper Yard." He remarked.

Up in the house, Tashigi and Chopper were gathering tools and books as requested. Pagaya was helping them select the right tools. Sanji was preparing the lunch boxes and arranging them to make a visual art.

"Sanji-san it doesn't even look like food anymore. I've never seen such a beautiful lunch box." Conis commented on his skillful work.

"Thank you Conis-chan. Here this one is for you." Sanji handed her a unique lunch box. Conis looked guilty and apprehensive when he offered. "What's wrong Conis-chan? Perhaps you don't like it."

"N-No. I'll take it." The blonde female stammered as she accepted it. Luffy peered over her shoulder.

"I'll take it if you don't want it." The raven haired boy whispered.

"Oh shitty captain, don't steal Conis-chan's food." Sanji remarked. As Chopper pass the window, he heard screaming.

"Hey guys something is happening to the ship!" The reindeer informed, making the crew head to the window. The ship seemed to be moving backwards and away from Angel Beach.

"Hey where are you guys going?" Luffy shouted, not likely that they were going on an adventure without him.

"I think there's something under the ship." Tashigi observed. To confirm her words a giant shrimp lifted the Going Merry into the air.

"That's a super express speed shrimp!" Pagaya informed.

"Everyone abandon the ship!" Zoro ordered.

"What about Merry? We can't just leave it behind!" Usopp refuted.

"Don't worry I'll stay behind." The first mate assured.

"What can you do by yourself!?" Nami countered.

"There's no point in jumping overboard. They blocked our escape." Smoker commented as he bit down on his cigar. The crew turned their gaze to his line of sight. Gigantic fish were swimming behind them.

"Is it possible for you to fly over?" Robin inquired the smoke user.

"Too risky. I might be able to make it but I'll have to contend with those fish while flying." Smoker answered.

"What if we take out the shrimp?" The sniper suggested.

"That might not be a good idea since it might send us flying towards the fish." Robin commented.

"That means we're stuck!" Nami shouted. "Where is it taking us?"

"Most likely to Upper Yard to serve the priest's punishment." The archaeologist replied calmly. The speeding shrimp sped off, separating the crew into two.

"…What should we do?" Chopper asked.

"Where are they going?" Luffy asked Pagaya.

"…That variety of speed shrimp serves under God Enel. They're being taken to the Sacrificial Altar, located in the northeast region of Upper Yard." Pagaya answered.

"Sacrifices!? Robin-chan, Nami-san and the others are going to be sacrifices for that god." Sanji said in fury. "Don't mess with me. I'll kick that asshole's ass."

"Please calm down. It's not what you think. When you are judged, there are two types. Although I've said sacrifices, they're really only hostages. The ones that actually get judged are you four here." The Skypiean man responded.

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked with a tilt of his head.

"Do any of you perhaps have a map? Pagaya asked and received a chorus of shakes. "Conis can you bring me a map?"

Conis grudgingly handed her father the map. Pagaya marked several keynotes on the map. "The only way to get to the Sacrificial Alter from Angel Beach is through the main milky road and by a dial boat. The route of the milky road leads through where the priests reside."

"Couldn't we simply go around the island to reach the Sacrificial Altar?" Tashigi inquired.

"That's impossible because the altar is inaccessible by foot. There is no other way except for entering via the central milky road." The man informed.

"It's simple then. We head in and take back our crew." Sanji commented.

"We just need to beat the priests, right?" Luffy remarked with a chuckle.

"It won't be as easy as you think. The four priests are much stronger than the White Berets. Most importantly, God Enel is in Upper Yard." Pagaya warned. Chopper gulped but he was determined to rescue his friends. Tashigi was equally worried, not wanting to feel the wrath of God. Still she needed to rescue her captain.

"If you're determined to go, I will lead you to the dial boat." Conis chimed in. The pirate crew nodded and packed up their things. They bid Pagaya farewell as the headed towards Lovely Street. Once on the streets, they noticed that the Skypieans were avoiding them.

"Looks like they know we're criminals." Sanji sighed. Luffy was his normal enthusiastic self while exploring the street. "Come on Luffy we need to save Nami-san, Robin-chan and the others."

"Why do we need to save them?" Luffy asked in confusion. "Zoro is with them."

"You can't rely on Marimo." The blonde countered

"Robin is there and she's strong." Chopper added as he took in the sights.

"Captain Smoker is also there." Tashigi reminded. Conis wondered how they could be so carefree when they were about to head into Upper Yard. She noticed that they were conversing about the idol representing vearth. She explained to them what the idol represented.

"You guys wish for it that long?" Luffy asked since eternity was a long time.

"Perhaps you aren't able to understand as you're citizens of the blue sea. Ah the port is this way." Conis directed.

"Eh I don't want to leave yet." The pirate captain pouted. At the port, the crew were amazed on the vast variety of boats. "I want that ship." Luffy pointed to a ship.

"Your ship is this way." The female Skypiean pointed out. She led them to a ship in the shape of a crow. "This is Karasu-Maru. I used it until I was able to control a waver. It might be a tad slow but it is easy to control." Conis explained happily.

"…No. I like that other one better." Luffy moped.

"Eh… You dislike Karasu-Maru? The other ships cost money to rent." Conis said in panic.

"You idiot captain! Apologize to Conis-chan now for being an ungrateful jerk!" Sanji yelled, kicking his captain.

"It looks cute and comfy. Thank you for lending it to us." Tashigi thanked her.

"I-It's no problem. To head to the main milky road, you need to head to gate No.2." Conis explained as she shakenly pointed to the gate.

"Hey Conis." Luffy faced her. "Why have you been shaking since we left your house?" He asked.

"Conis-chan must be worried about us." Sanji assumed positively.

"Maybe she's nervous from escorting us. After all, the other people avoided us on the way here." Tashigi guessed.

"Are you sick?" Chopper asked, noticing her pale face. "I have some remedies that can help." He reached into his bag.

"N-No I'm f-fine." Conis stuttered out.

"You should've told us if you were sick. We could've got here ourselves." Luffy reasoned.

"I-It's not l-like that." Conis confessed. The citizens of Skypiea froze, wondering what the young girl was thinking. "It's strange right? Explaining the route to the trials and taking you there. It's as if I'm leading you there."

"STOP! DON'T SAY FOOLISH THINGS!" A random citizen shouted in warning. The crew noticed that all the attention was on them. Conis slumped down on the ground, tears filling her eyes.

"Can you please… run away?" Conis pleaded. The crew wondered what was going on. "I'm sorry but the one who called the super-express speed shrimp was me!" She confessed.

"Conis-chan called the shrimp?" Sanji said in disbelief.

"Stop what you're saying! It's blasphemy against God!" The townspeople yelled. With tears falling, Conis continued to speak.

"After discovering a criminal, if we don't take them towards Upper Yard…we'll be killed." The Skypiean female shouted. The crew stood in disbelief at her words. Luffy was the first to regain his bearings.

"You're really stupid. You did it because you had no choice." The raven haired boy replied as Conis looked up in surprised. She had believed that they would condemn her for her actions.

"WHY DID YOU TELL US!?" The three Strawhats shouted at her. Conis and Tashigi stood, rattled at their words. Tashigi knew that these pirates were different from the other pirates since the events of Alabasta. Their words just now only further confirmed that they cared about other's safety more than their own safety.

"You need to leave! You're going to be targeted!" Luffy shouted, gripping onto Conis' shoulders.

"It's too late. GET AWAY FROM HER!" A townsperson shouted. Out of nowhere light surrounded Luffy and Conis. Realizing the danger, the pirate captain wrapped an arm around Conis' waist. Launching his other arm, he latched onto the roof of a nearby building. The light crashed down, destroying the area it had touched.

"LUFFY! CONIS!" Chopper shouted after he had regain his bearings. Sanji had managed to grab both him and Tashigi to safety. Sanji and Tashigi joined the shouting, fearing the safety of their friends.

"It's useless. God Enel is always watching." A frightened Skypiean remarked.

"Oi. We're over here!" Luffy announced much to the shock of everyone. He and Conis were hidden under some rubble of a destroyed building. The pirate captain had managed to absorb the shock of the impact while fleeing the light. Conis was wrapped safely around his arm. Chopper immediately sprang to them to check for injuries. Tashigi and Sanji weren't far behind the doctor.

"Impossible. They escaped God's judgement." The townspeople commented. Luffy released Conis from his grip.

"Why did you save me?" The female Skypiean asked as she expected to receive Enel's judgement for spilling the secret.

"You helped us out when we got here. That makes us friends. Shishishi." The pirate captain laughed.

"Luffy-san I think we should go. I don't want the townspeople to be targeted by this god." Tashigi suggested. She was furious that this Enel would treat his citizens like that.

"Should we bring Conis-chan with us?" Sanji wondered. "She might be targeted again." He definitely didn't want her to be hurt. This Enel would pay for kidnapping Robin-chan, Nami-san, and the others and for trying to hurt Conis-chan. The four illegal trespassers looked at the female Skypiean.

"I…I'll go. I don't want to drag anyone else down with me." Conis confirmed. With nods from everyone, they boarded Karasu-Maru.

"Alright Upper Yard, here we come!" Luffy shouted as they departed.

In the air, Gan Fall was looking down on the ship. "Such courageousness. Even after seeing the power of Enel, they're determined to rescue their nakama." The old knight said as he soared on ahead. Looking at the actions of the pirates, something spurred inside of him. He would help them rescue their friends.

 **Reviews:**

 **Lightningblade49 –** Yeah Tashigi joining was the plan from the start. Smoker is still a maybe as I'm wondering what I should do with his character beyond this arc. He will have lots of things that will persuade him to change his mind in this arc.

 **Iitrnr –** Thanks! I'm trying to maintain their personalities but that's hard with the Strawhat antics.

 **Revan3363 –** Thank you for the review!

 **Forzarismo –** Thank you for pointing that out. I must have messed up the conversion somewhere.

 **The Apex Predator 01 –** Well you can vote for Hancock now!

 **Pizzajon –** Yeah it's pretty much a forgone joining. Tashigi can't escape now lol.

 **Monkey D. Conan –** Yup Tashigi is an (un)official Strawhat now! Smoker is in an interesting position as I can make him be a variety of things; from crewmember, ally or etc. I like your suggestion though! You can now vote for Nami! Conis is a toss up at this point. She'll be a player in this arc though.

 **wildedge –** Thanks. I could see Tashigi meshing with the Strawhats. Smoker is a wait and see.

 **Johnny Spectre –** Smoker might or might not join. Of course his mind will change this arc.

 **TheBlackSeaReaper –** Thanks for the review!

 **StrawHatCaptainLuffy-Sama –** Breathe! Haha thanks. I hope to expand on the idea to make this a great One Piece Fanfiction.

 **Poleba42 –** Thank you very much! Glad the characters aren't OC. Tashigi will continue to have funny moments while interacting with the crew.

 **Son of Whitebeard –** They will have their time as main fighters as well.

 **Nala1220 –** Thanks for giving it a try. I'm just glad you read it and reviewed. Not many people do that. Some things in the One Piece will change but also some will stay the same. Of course, I'm not telling what.

 **MemberXIII –** The Strawhat crew will have more members than in canon. Along with Tashigi, I have at least two more planned. It all depends on the story advances.

 **The Keeper of Worlds –** Thank you for the review!

 **dragonfox123 –** Thanks for the review!

 **miyuki00 –** Thanks for the review and sorry for the long wait!

 **kazers –** Smoker is a maybe at the moment.

 **Fox Boss –** Thanks. Sorry for the long wait!


	8. Chapter 8

**New A.N.**

All three of my stories have adopted. I thank everyone for wishing me good luck in my life. I thank the three authors that will continue my stories. This is my farewell to Fanfiction. If I ever do come back, I'll probably write the story Naruto story below if no one picks it up. That's a slim chance however. Without further ado, bye guys!

 **Team Cana** has been officially adopted by **Derekjay2000**! Please give them your support when they release the story.

 **Shichibukai Strawhat** has been officially adopted by **pizzajon**! Please give them your support when they release the story.

 **Master of the Basics** has been officially adopted by **aroneden**! Please give them your support when they release the story.

A.N.

Hello to all my readers. I've decided to give up writing because I simply do not have the time to spare. Balancing work, family, and college is too time consuming. I did not want to leave my readers waiting for chapters that won't come. I will like to thank everyone for supporting my stories. As of now, all my stories are up for adoption. If you are interested, PM me and I will hand over the outline and chapters to that story. If you are simply interested in the story's plot, PM me and I will hand over the outline as well.

I will need your e-mail address to send over the plot outline though. Please PM your e-mail like this:

someone at yahoo . com

Also if anyone is interested, I have this idea for a Naruto story that I would love for someone to write.

Synopsis: After the death of Nawaki, Tsunade becomes the last remaining Senju. Not wanting one of their founding clans to die out, the council proposes the Clan Restoration Act. Unfortunately when they implemented it, Tsunade had left Konohagakure with a young Shizune. The CRA was all but forgotten until Minato became the Yondaime Hokage, thus creating the Namikaze Clan. Now the council is forcing Minato to marry more than one woman, much to Kushina's displeasure.

If someone does decide to write it, I have an outline for this story as well. Of course that does not mean you need to follow it. Anyone can use this idea if they want.


End file.
